LEW ‘GUTTED’ IN FIFTH SPOT
BY ANDY DUNN
DEEP down, Lewis Hamilton knows where the 2022 version of his Mercedes belongs… and it is not on the first two rows of an F1 grid.
The gap between his team and the Ferrari and Red Bull operations remains significant.
But he was still “gutted” at only finishing best of the rest at a wet Silverstone.
He clearly thought the fervour of the drenched fans, his own motivation and brilliance – along with the treacherous track – might have helped him interrupt the dominance of the four front-runners.
It was not to be, but you can rest assured Hamilton will push himself and his underperforming machine to the limit in today’s race.
“I’m a little bit gutted really because we have such a great crowd here and I was pushing so hard to get on the front row and fight for pole position today,” said Hamilton.
“And I think we could have been in the top three.
“I was gunning for second at least and so to end fifth, it makes tomorrow tough.
“But I know I’ve got this amazing crowd, so I’ll try to push forward.”
Realistically, it would probably need mechanical failure from the cars up the road for Hamilton to have a chance of winning his ninth British Grand Prix.
He said the upgrades to his car were not significant and admitted that he would have had no chance of qualifying higher had the heavens not opened over the Northamptonshire track.
As the forecast for Sunday does not, at the moment, include any rain, that does not bode well for the seven-time world champion.
And the chances of his team-mate George Russell getting on to any step of the podium are also slim after the 24-year-old’s error put him down to eighth.
He said: “As the session progressed, everything just got slightly worse.
“I had really good confidence in Q1 and was in the top three for the majority, and then sort of didn’t have that come Q3 when it mattered.
“The car had the pace to be P4 or P5 today.
“I made a mistake when it mattered on the last lap.”
The third British driver, McLaren’s Lando Norris, put in a strong showing and the 22-year-old will now be lining up alongside Hamilton in the third row.
But after Spanish driver Carlos Sainz Jr claimed his first pole in 150 races, the fight for victory will almost certainly be between the Ferraris and the Red Bulls.
Max Verstappen is next to Sainz on the front row, with Charles Leclerc and Sergio Perez third and fourth respectively.
Verstappen, who would not prove to be a popular winner, said: “If they want to boo, they can do. It’s not going to change anything.”