Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes miss the boat in Sochi

Mercedes et Lewis Hamilton can't do it anymore. During the last 11 qualifying sessions, the Briton has only gleaned one pole position, he who has 101 in his immense collection.

On paper, the soulless route of Sochi nevertheless represented the ideal place to find the way to the peaks of the grid. The path was even clearer since the penalty imposed on Max Verstappen for use of a new Honda powertrain.

The Dutchman, who knew he was doomed to start at the back of the grid, did not spend too much time on the track this Saturday. A quick lap in Q1 and then it's gone. Day over for the leader of the world championship, who nevertheless did not fail to follow the rest of the session with great interest.

While Hamilton had suggested at the start of the weekend that the pressure of a potential first title was perhaps catching up with Verstappen after the Monza crash, it was him, adorned with his 7 world crowns, who made a mistake in Q3. And not just once.

The Briton first hit the wall while returning to the pits at low speed, damaging his front wing in the process. Enough to give Verstappen the opportunity to drink some whey. “ I'm surprised because it's not the first time he used the pit lane and you could see that it was tricky », quipped the Batavian after the session.

The warning could have been of no consequence since Hamilton managed to return to the track for a final lap on slicks. But Sir Lewis was unable to improve his sectors due to the tires being too cold, and eventually spun and hit the TecPro barriers with his rear wing.

« I made a mistake, I am extremely disappointed with my performance, whispered the seven-time world champion into the microphone of Sky Sports F1 when he got out of the car.

Until then, I was really in the rhythm, in the right tempo. I'm really sorry for the team. They have the right to expect something else from a champion ».

Yet very lively during Friday's free practice contested in the dry, his teammate Valtteri Bottas must settle for 7th place.

• Pressure, what pressure?

Despite the legitimate disappointment, Toto wolff, main Mercedes team, refused to overwhelm his drivers in the evening. The Austrian explained that the two men had found themselves trapped by the timing of Q3 after not wanting to take risks by putting on slicks too early on a track that was still wet.

Mercedes was thus more cautious than teams like McLaren, Ferrari, and Williams, who smelled the big blow and reaped the fruits of their audacity by monopolizing the leading trio (Lando Norris, before Carlos Sainz, and George Russell) after being able to complete two laps on red tires.

As for Hamilton's missteps, Wolff felt they were unrelated to the pressure of fighting for the title. because we knew well before the session that Max would have to start from the back of the grid ". Certainly, but this is not the first time this season that Sir Lewis has made a mistake on his own... Asked about the subject, Hamilton also brushed it aside.

« It has nothing to do with pressure, it's just a small mistake because I wanted to hurry back to get out on slicks and have the most track time to warm them up. “, replied the Briton later in the evening. However, isn't it the nature of pressure to push you to haste and ultimately to make mistakes?

Mercedes nevertheless maintains high ambitions for the race, which should take place on a dry track. “ There are things to do from 4th on the grid, although 3rd is more advantageous, while Valtteri's pace in long runs on Friday was impressive, especially on the hard tires », concluded the boss of Brackley (United Kingdom).

Other (meager) reasons for consolation for the seven-time world champions, Red Bull still can't count on its 2nd driver to put a spoke in their wheels. Transparent since his contract extension, Sergio Pérez did no better than the 9th fastest time in Q3.

« When you go from far away, you can only count on yourself anyway ", evacuated Verstappen, who doesn't need anyone to shine anyway.

As for the sensational Russell, who will start just ahead of Hamilton, if Wolff sees him clearly. lead the race at the first braking ", it's hard to imagine the Williams driver offering all-out resistance to his future teammate and employer.

Mercedes and Hamilton are far from having lost everything this Saturday in Sochi but they missed a great break point.