Lewis Hamilton pessimistic after a difficult day of free practice at Spa

F1. Hamilton and Russell are counting on the changes made overnight and possible changes in the weather, especially rain, to improve their performance over the rest of the weekend at Spa.

Lewis Hamilton was rather pessimistic at the end of the day on Friday.
© Motors Inside / Laurent Lefebvre / Lewis Hamilton was rather pessimistic at the end of the day on Friday.

Lewis Hamilton expressed his disappointment at the end of the first day of free practice for the Belgian Grand Prix. The Mercedes driver, who was 1.2 seconds off the benchmark time set by Lando Norris in FP2, described this performance as not great.

The Silver Arrows had started the weekend with confidence, following their recent victories in Austria and Great Britain, followed by a podium in Hungary for Hamilton. However, the performances on the track at Spa-Francorchamps were below expectations, with Hamilton finishing tenth in the second practice session, after taking fifth place in FP1.

Interrogated on his feelings after the day by television, Hamilton declared: “It was a pretty bad day. I don’t know what to say! The last races have been great, but today, it was completely different.” He added that despite the adjustments made after the first session, the problems persisted: “We made changes, and although it started well, I couldn’t improve with the soft tires due to various balance issues.”

Hamilton also pointed out that despite an improvement during the session, the other teams had made more progress, leaving him 1.2 seconds behind Norris.

Lewis Hamilton is looking forward to possible rain this Saturday.

As for the uncertain weather forecast for the rest of the weekend, Hamilton sees an opportunity in case of rain: Fantastic! Because if it’s dry, we won’t be in an ideal position, but we can make adjustments overnight. If rain comes, it could work in our favor and allow us to do a better job.

On the other side of the Mercedes garage, George Russell finished the FP1 in fourth position before setting the sixth fastest time in FP2. Like Hamilton, he acknowledges that the team still has to make progress.

« It’s always nice to be here in Spa, it’s a super cool circuit – very fast this year with a bit of resurfacing,” Russell commented on Friday. « We have work to do tonight. McLaren clearly has an edge on us right now, as well as Red Bull, so we need to continue evaluating and moving forward from there. »

When asked if he expected to be in this position, Russell replied: “It’s only been 10 minutes since I got out of the car, so I still need to analyze. We must look at the long-term pace with a lot of fuel. I think the McLarens were at full power, which gives them an advantage here. Tomorrow is another day, and I’m sure we can find solutions tonight. But we have often had very good Fridays before others catch up with us on Saturday. Hopefully, it will be our turn this weekend.”

Hamilton and Russell hope that the adjustments made overnight and the possible weather conditions will work in their favor for the rest of the weekend at Spa.