Why Lewis Hamilton Is Struggling to Keep Up With George Russell in 2024 - The Inside Story
It's no secret that Formula 1 fans have been eager to see how the seasoned Lewis Hamilton would fare against his increasingly impressive teammate, George Russell, throughout the 2024 season. Unfortunately, if Monaco is anything to go by, Hamilton himself isn't optimistic about out-qualifying Russell for the remainder of the year.
Hamilton’s Weekend Hopes Dashed
Hamilton's Monaco qualifying journey began with promise. The seven-time world champion had looked strong in practice sessions, consistently placing within the top three. Yet, by the time qualifying rolled around, Hamilton could only manage a seventh-place finish, two positions behind Russell, who secured fifth with a new front wing upgrade.
Discussing his struggle, Hamilton opened up about his experiences: “It was looking great yesterday. We’ve been working hard to improve this car, and from the get-go, it felt great. We were obviously competitive yesterday and this morning.”
Despite the promising start, when it came to the decisive moments in qualifying, the expected performance just wasn't there. “We’ve not been making any drastic changes or anything like that. The team worked really hard back at the factory to bring an upgrade in the last two races,” he added, highlighting the challenge of competing against a teammate with a key new component. “I anticipated it would be difficult to out-qualify George because he has the upgraded component... but once we got to qualifying...I don’t understand.”
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Hamilton’s frustration was palpable as he talked about the two-tenths of a second he frequently loses during qualifying sessions, a margin that translates to even larger gaps on different tracks. “I already know automatically that I’m going to lose two-tenths going into qualifying, and that’s definitely frustrating, and it’s something that I don’t really have an answer for at the moment. I’m not driving any different. The laps were really great, just lacking something.”
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Hamilton will line up in P7 for the Monaco Grand Prix, two places behind team mate Russell
A Team Perspective
Speaking about the team, Hamilton said, “I think from my team’s perspective, yes, this could signal a turning point. We’re a lot closer this weekend, and it’s really great to see.” However, he also tempered expectations, stating, “Three and a half tenths is a lot here, and that’s still six-tenths elsewhere. We’ve just got to keep on pushing. We’ll slowly get closer through the year as more upgrades come.”
Even though Hamilton doesn't see himself out-qualifying Russell much this year, he maintains a resilient attitude about race performance. “I don’t anticipate being ahead of George in qualifying particularly this year, but we’ve just got to keep pushing, and the races are strong.”
As Hamilton nears the end of his tenure with Mercedes before his much-publicized switch to Ferrari in 2025, his drive and commitment remain undeterred. So far in 2024, he's only out-qualified Russell once, at the Japanese Grand Prix. Hamilton’s main challenge might not just be car performance but also adaptability to upgrades and setups that seem to favor his younger teammate.
Team boss Toto Wolff’s comments provide some insight into the minor but crucial advantages Russell has had. “I don’t think there was much difference between [the old and new wings] on time,” Wolff explained. “But the factory just did such a mega job, the thing was flown out last-minute, and proved to be functioning, and we hope now that it holds.”
With the season ongoing and more upgrades on the horizon, fans can only watch and hope that Hamilton finds the 'something' he's been missing. One thing's for certain: the battle between these two Mercedes drivers promises to keep us on the edge of our seats.