While Hamilton was not too disheartened to qualify fifth in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, just behind Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz, the near one-second gap to poleman Charles Leclerc was an eye-opener.
And reflecting on the scale of the top-speed advantage that Red Bull has, and the way Ferrari is so quick in the middle sector, Hamilton said Azerbaijan has exposed the scale of work Mercedes needs to put in.
Despite Mercedes having introduced a revised rear wing endplate to reduce drag, the speed trap figures of the top cars across the start-finish line showed Max Verstappen hit 339.1km/h in qualifying, with Hamilton reaching 335.5km/h.
Speaking about the swing of form since Mercedes challenged Red Bull in Australia, Hamilton said: “I knew that the Red Bulls would be particularly quick, but I didn't realise we would have such a huge deficit on the straights.
“But it's a good indicator. We're slower on the straights and slower in the middle sector, so we've got a lot of work to do to rectify that in the car.
“It's not the easiest one to drive. I'm happy to be on the third row and I think hopefully tomorrow we can have a bit of a better battle.”
Hamilton felt that there had been the potential to enjoy a stronger qualifying session, but he never felt fully comfortable with the car.
Source: Autosport