Mercedes trackside engineering director Andrew Shovlin has shed light on why Lewis Hamilton is outperformed by team-mate George Russell in qualifying this season.
Historically dominant on Saturdays, Hamilton has secured a record 104 pole positions in his 344-race career. However, only one of those has come since the 2022 introduction of the current ground-effect era, marking his worst performance against a team-mate in qualifying, with Russell leading 10-2 over 12 grands prix.
Shovlin acknowledges Russell’s prowess in qualifying but highlights specific challenges Hamilton faces with the new generation of cars. “Lewis has not disguised the fact that Saturdays were his tough day,” Shovlin stated.
“He’s struggled with this whole generation of car, really, not suiting his style. He’s been working on how he drives.”
The team has focused on improving the car’s speed and handling to better suit Hamilton’s aggressive cornering style.
Shovlin noted, “We’ve had a huge amount of work trying to get the car to be quicker and with a handling balance that the drivers can attack the lap on Saturday.”
Despite these struggles in qualifying, Hamilton’s race pace remains strong, which has been beneficial for Mercedes in securing points. Shovlin explained that the difficulty lies in how Hamilton wants to attack corners, causing the car to snap into oversteer and build tyre temperature, making it challenging to maintain control.
The team is optimistic about Hamilton’s prospects, with Shovlin adding, “It’s great for the team that Lewis is back up there and he’ll be pushing on. We’ll keep working on that, and I’m sure we’ll hopefully see some more Lewis pole positions as well.”
