Lewis Hamilton is fearful about the prospect of missing out on Q3 in qualifying for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix this weekend and his comments speak volumes about the team’s troubles. The 2023 season comes to a close on Sunday in the Middle East where Hamilton has previously lifted six of his seven F1 titles.
The Mercedes driver was only eighth fastest in a disrupted FP2 on Friday after missing FP1. Danish rookie Frederik Vesti replaced the Briton in the first practice session in order to satisfy an F1 rule that obligates teams to let rookies drive in each of their cars once during a season.
Asked if he’s optimistic of qualifying high up the grid after FP2, Hamilton said: “At the moment, no. I’m just going to try and see if there’s a way to get into Q3. We’ve had difficult qualifying sessions and getting out of Q1 into Q2, for example, has always been a tough battle.
“Even getting into Q3 is a challenge. It’s going to be close. I’m not making excuses – I’m going to try and get on it tomorrow.” And those are words seven-time world champion Hamilton probably never expected to come out of his mouth.
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He is the most successful driver in history at the Yas Marina Circuit, although the event only started in 2009. The 103-time race winner, without a victory since the 2021 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, has won on this track five times to Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen’s three.
The 38-year-old has also finished on the podium another five times, including in 2021 when he was controversially denied an eighth title. In fact, of the 11 previous times he’s finished the race, only once has he NOT ended in the top three.
That was in 2013, when he was in a Mercedes far slower than Vettel’s championship-winning Red Bull. The German ended on 397 points that season to Hamilton’s 189, which saw him end fourth in the Drivers’ Championship. It is a similar situation this year.
Hamilton is guaranteed to finish third on an absolute minimum of 232 points while Verstappen stands to end on at least 549, though can end with 575. He could possibly end up with double the Brit’s tally. And that Hamilton is worried just about getting into Q3 says a lot about where Mercedes are right now.
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He said before the Las Vegas Grand Prix: “It’s still not a world championship-winning car and I don’t even think it’s probably a race-winning car still. That’s what we’re going to have to work on for next year. It’s been a killer season.”
Hamilton has amassed an impressive six podiums despite the Silver Arrows’ struggles but his 2021 title rival Verstappen is way, way ahead of him. Max has led 951 laps to Lewis’ 13 and has 11 pole positions to his one. Not to mention the fact he’s won 18 of 21 races, with team-mate Sergio Perez winning two of the others.
Mercedes are well aware of the chasmic gap between themselves and Red Bull and Verstappen. So much so, Hamilton said last month: “I think they’re probably going to be very clear for the next couple of years.” We are certainly still a long way from seeing the two best drivers on the grid regularly going wheel-to-wheel again, as this weekend will surely again prove.
Lewis Hamilton’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix history
- 2009: DNF
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