“Even the Best Struggle” – Former F1 Driver Defends Lewis Hamilton’s Shocking Q1 Exit at Jeddah

The 2022 season of Formula 1 has already seen thrilling battles and provided some shocking moments. One of those shocking moments was Lewis Hamilton’s elimination in Q1 during the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. Mercedes has been in a spot of bother ever since the Bahrain Grand Prix and it continues going into the third race of the season.

Red Bull and Ferrari have capitalized on the Silver Arrow’s issues. Charles Leclerc tops the leaderboard with Lewis Hamilton already 29 points behind the Monegasque. Even though Mercedes had a solid result in Bahrain, the race did not reveal the entire picture. As the Australian Grand Prix is on the horizon, the team from Brackley will look to pull their socks up and match the top two.

Meanwhile, Former F1 driver Pedro de la Rosa was on F1 Nation’s podcast guest this weekend. He gave his thoughts on the Australian Grand Prix and Lewis Hamilton’s elimination in Q1 in Jeddah.

De la Rosa feels Mercedes panicked in Jeddah

Lewis Hamilton replaced Pedro de la Rosa in McLaren back in 2007. However, the Spaniard continued to work with McLaren as a test driver and had a good relationship with Hamilton. As Lewis Hamilton’s name crept into the conversation, Tom Clarkson asked De la Rosa on the 7-time World Champion’s elimination in Q1.

He revealed the team did not take good decisions in the qualifying session. De la Rosa said, “He didn’t have the best of the qualifying sessions as well. You know, there were lot of red flags and he had the medium tire initially, he didn’t get up to temperature.” 

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The 51-year-old also revealed Hamilton enquired about George Russell’s time in the middle of a lap. He stated, “I remember when he asked over the radio; I mean, he was told that George, his teammate, was purple in sector 1 and he was seven-tenths off already. So I think that they panicked, they went into the soft tire and the time was not coming.”

De La Rosa admits Hamilton has his bad days

Pedro de la Rosa backed Hamilton and hopes that he will bounce back. However, he revealed that Mercedes did not provide the conditions for the Brit to thrive in Jeddah. “So he had a bad day in the office, bad decisions really, but they were trying to explore the set up. It’s part of the game, we have seen Lewis since 2007 which is always fighting for a Q3 you know, the top 5 and we think that’s going to last forever, but if the things are not right in a demanding track like Jeddah, even the best struggle, ” he added.

Many, including De la Rosa, believe Hamilton was not the only one at fault for the disastrous qualifying session. Mercedes has started the season in a disappointing fashion. However, have shown in the past that they can come back from difficult situations. Can they do it again? It remains to be seen.

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