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(Motorsport-Total.com) – Actually, Lewis Hamilton’s pole lap in qualifying for the Bahrain Grand Prix (Formula 1 2020 live on the ticker!) Didn’t start as if he could improve his time from the first race of Q3. In the first mini-sectors, the Mercedes driver was even slower than on the previous lap. Only the last two mini-sectors in the first large sector glowed pink.
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Lewis Hamilton’s pole lap was also very tactically designed Focus
You have to know that the FIA not only divides the racetracks into the three sectors that fans know from television. The Bahrain International Circuit is segmented into a total of 28 mini-sectors. The so-called “Driver-Performance-Page”, where these 28 mini-sectors can be followed in detail, is reserved for accredited journalists.
In one you could see that Hamilton had started his lap from pole cautiously. “There was still a little time left in turn 1,” he analyzes. “I was a little underperformed at the start. But the rest was good. Turn 6 was a bit too slow too. I could have gone a little faster there.”
At the same time, he claims that the lap started “really well”, which begs the question: Was the slow start in the early mini-sectors perhaps intentional so as not to overheat the soft tires on the coarse-grained asphalt in Bahrain in the early corners? and lose their beak too fast?
What you couldn’t see on TV
On the “Driver Performance Page” it was clear: Hamilton took about 20 seconds to catch up. “Those are really the smallest details,” he laughs, asked by ‘Motorsport-Total.com’ about the observation. Max Verstappen, who is sitting next to him, has to smile: “It must have been 0.005 seconds or so.”
Hamilton then seriously responds to the question: “I guess I can’t answer that in too much detail, after all I don’t want to reveal any secrets. But I can say I made no mistakes,” he smiles. What he hints at: His relatively slow start to the round didn’t happen to him, but it was a conscious decision.
“We drive these laps very slow,” he explains, “and every time we try to get the tires in the optimal temperature window for the beginning. We are talking about a one to five degree difference. Most of the time the tires go up to certain point”. the better round, but then they overheat and you have problems. That is my answer. “
It was “a clean lap,” says Hamilton. This fits with the statements of Valtteri Bottas, who was also satisfied with his second round to Q3, which brought him to the front row after Verstappen: “The problem is when you have a good feeling and you think you can do everything outside of the car, but the lap time is still not enough. “
Friday was “difficult,” explains Hamilton, because Pirelli had the C3 prototype on offer for testing for 2021 and Mercedes was concentrating on it. World titles have already been won, so it stands to reason that Toto Wolff instructed his team to give more space to the future than to the present. There is even more to be gained in 2021 than in 2020.
“But overnight we worked really well,” says Hamilton, “and the decisions we made after the third practice session were a direct hit. I was totally happy with the car in Q1. All the laps were good. including that one. ” First run of Q3. But he still had room for improvement. Fortunately, I managed the last lap really well. “
Mercedes remains “best in class” even without upgrades
The fact that Hamilton still has a 0.4 second lead over Verstappen in the third of the season’s final qualifying and more than a second over the rest of the world is proof of Mercedes’ dominance. The F1 W11 EQ Performance hasn’t been developed further for weeks, while others push hard. And yet there was no grass against Hamilton.
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“Even if we don’t bring any updates, we learn more and more about the car,” explains the seven-time world champion. “Next year it will be largely the same car, so we are working hard to better understand the features of our car and its requirements. Anything that moves us forward. There is a lot of work in the background.”
“That’s right, we didn’t bring any more updates because the show was moved to next year at some point. So it’s even more surprising that we can still improve,” he enthuses. “Now we understand the tires better, we understand the whole package better and we know more and more exactly how to adjust it. A very interesting process.”
Regarding 2021, Mercedes is in a strong position, the 35-year-old is convinced: “I have not been in the wind tunnel yet, and this year (due to the pandemic; editor’s note) I have been very little in the factory I have no idea how far they are with the package for next year. But I have complete confidence in the factory team. “
However, he cautions against assuming certain success next year due to the positive signs: “We have seen the Red Bulls improve more and more. I think they already have a very, very good car. And if they have their engine.” Develop a little more, they could come closer to us next year, “believes Hamilton.
