Hamilton frustrated by Mercedes’ “huge deficit” to Red Bull

The seven-time world champion beat Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso to a solid fifth in Friday qualifying for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, but Hamilton ended up nearly a full second behind Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, who beat Max Verstappen to pole position. 

After qualifying, Hamilton highlighted how far Mercedes are lagging behind Ferrari and early pace-setters Red Bull on Baku’s long straights. 

“I knew that the Red Bulls would be particularly quick,” Hamilton said. "I didn’t realise we’d have such a huge deficit on the straights.

“But it’s a good indicator. We are slower on the straights, slower on the middle sector. So we’ve got a lot to do to rectify that.

“The car isn’t the easiest one to drive. I’m happy to be on the third row and hopefully tomorrow we can have a better battle.”

Hamilton reckons he could have pipped Carlos Sainz’s Ferrari to fourth place had he nailed his final run in Q3. 

“We are trying as hard as we can, giving it absolutely everything out there,” he said. 

“Timing, getting into a rhythm, is not easy on this track.

“In Q2 I really struggled. I had more pace, I just didn’t get the last lap. My Q3 run one was a sweet lap but I just matched it, basically, at the end.

“But I needed a little more time to nip the Ferrari.” 

Hamilton will get another shot at qualifying during Saturday morning’s new ‘Sprint Shootout’ that will determine the grid for the 100km sprint. 

“We can’t do any changes to the car, so this is the pace that we have,” Hamilton explained. 

“I might be able to eke a bit more out tomorrow, if we do some studying tonight.

“But this is definitely a good position for Sunday. Naturally, this isn’t the position we want as a team - we exist to win.

“But everyone has that winning mindset and everyone is working as hard as they can.

“We haven’t had an upgrade this weekend but we’re working towards one which will hopefully put us closer to the battle ahead.”