Sir Lewis Hamilton – 2023 Australian GP news and results
Thursday
Cockpit issues for the 7-time world champion
Speaking to AMUS, Hamilton attributes the cockpit’s position for his lack of confidence in the car’s rear-end feel, which affects his perception of how the car reacts. He wants Mercedes to return to the old cockpit architecture, but this might not be possible until 2024 due to the budget cap restrictions.
Read more : Hamilton’s theory: Mercedes cockpit too far ahead
Getting prepared for an improved Mercedes Car
To F1, the Briton admitted he was getting himself for when the Mercedes car will be able to battle for silverware.
“I’m training quite a lot in between races and justtrying to make sure that I am the fittest I can be for when at some stage I do ge tthe car that we’ve all been hoping for. And if that happens, whether it’s two or ten or 20 races away, I just want to make sure that I’m ready for that day.”
Interview with Fox Sports
Friday
P5 is the target after the first two practice sessions
A mixed friday for Lewis Hamilton. He finished P2 in the first practice session (1:19.223, +0.433s behind leader Max Verstappen), but only 13th (1:20.323, +1.436s behind leader Fernando Alonso) in a second practice session where the rain came into play.
“I don’t think we’ll be competing against the Red Bulls,” he admitted after FP2. “It’ll just be about trying to see if we can get up as high as possible. So I think we’ve got pace to be around fifth [place] area, same as the last race.”
Read more : Hamilton and Russell offer divided opinions after Australian practice
Saturday
In FP3, Lewis Hamilton positionned his Mercedes W14 on 8th position, just a little less than six tenths behind leader Max Verstappen.
He will start on the second row (P3) of the grid for the 2023 Australian GP. With a timed lap of 1:17.104, he was +0.372s slower than Max Verstappen (1:16.732), who secured his first ever pole position in Australia. George Russell finishes ahead of Hamilton for the 4th consecutive time. It’s Lewis Hamilton’s best qualifying result since the 2022 Mexico City GP.
“I mean, this is a totally unexpected.” responded Hamilton in the post qualifying interview with F1.
“Really, really proud of the team. George did a fantastic job there today. So for us to be up on the two front row is honestly a dream for us. We’re all working as hard as we can to get right back up the front and so to be this close to the Red Bull is honestly, it’s incredible. So I hope tomorrow we can give them a bit of a run for their money and we hope the weather is good. “
Sunday
Hamilton secured the second place of the race, behind the winner Max Verstappen who crossed the finish line behind the Safety Car. He is the first Mercedes driver to record a podium finish in 2023, after Geroge Russell’s third place finish in Saudi Arabia was eventually cancelled due to the FIA reinstating Fernando Alonso to P3.
Hamilton set a new record of 17 seasons in a row with at least one podium finish since he started his F1 career back in 2007.
More to follow…
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