Hamilton: “We sincerely believed we were behind the Ferraris” before qualifying

Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) in pole position on the Albert Park circuit in Melbourne (Australia), this is nothing new. This is even the eighth time that the Briton will start an Australian Grand Prix from first place, and the fifth time in a row!

However, the outgoing world champion did not get off to a good start during his first run in Q3. In fact, he veered wide at the end of the pit straight, while his teammate Valtteri Bottas negotiated this route properly. “I made a mistake, which is unusual for me, He explains. 

the moment @LewisHamilton...

Took his sixth consecutive #AusGP pole
Equaled the record for most poles (8) at one venue
Blitzed the track record in Melbourne#AusGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/enxH5RMRAt

— Formula 1 (@F1) March 16, 2019

The second round was much better, which is not always the case in qualifying. I am very proud of this performance, and grateful to my team who worked hard this winter. » 

Everything went as he wanted on his second attempt; Lewis Hamilton has no complaints. “The tires have been very good since yesterday, I have no complaints against them. I know I've complained about it a lot before, it will be interesting to see how they develop tomorrow. »

Worried about a possible speed deficit compared to the Ferraris this winter, Lewis Hamilton radically changed his attitude. « I didn't at all expect to see this performance gap that we see here. » The Mercedes has indeed relegated Sebastian Vettel seven tenths!

A real positive buzz on the track today. The car is flowing beautifully. We're ready for the fight tomorrow #AusGP #F1 @MercedesAMGF1 @MSI_Images pic.twitter.com/SAMwnCASO5

- Lewis Hamilton (@LewisHamilton) March 15, 2019

Evil tongues will say that Lewis Hamilton and Toto wolff played a hell of a bluff. “In testing I felt we had a decent package to work with but we were worried about being a bit behind (Ferrari), that’s honestly what we thought, when they (the engineers) showed us the analysis of the Barcelona tests (Spain). We sincerely believed we were behind the Ferraris, defends the pole record holder (84).

Since that moment, we have not changed the car, we have understood it better. We haven't rushed any improvement here. All of a sudden, Ferrari lost performance this morning in EL3 or qualifying, it was a real shock for us., concludes the Englishman. For his opponents, the shock is surely even greater…