Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton has admitted that he was “grateful” to “survive out there” as he finished eighth in a tough 2022 Austrian Sprint.
Following a Q3 crash yesterday (8 July), Hamilton missed most of FP2 as Mercedes continued to repair his car due to strict curfew rules in place on a Sprint weekend, yet he managed to finish the session in ninth overall.
Hamilton however endured a difficult start from ninth on the grid in the Sprint as he lost two positions after tangling with AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly.
Explaining exactly what unfolded at the start, Hamilton commented: “I didn’t have a good start, then Pierre moved across on me at Turn One. I don’t understand why drivers do that when there’s so much space to the right, and I couldn’t do anything about it.
“Then the same happened in Turn Three with a Williams and Red Bull. I got some sort of damage, but at least could continue.”
Hamilton thereafter fought his way past Alex Albon and Valtteri Bottas into ninth by the end of Lap 8, but found himself stuck behind Haas’ Mick Schumacher as he admitted that Mercedes “… are slower on the straights,” as he struggled to overtake the 202 F2 champion.
The seven-time champion eventually cleared Schumacher on Lap 21 into Turn Four to clinch the final point in eighth, yet is just relieved to finish the race with a single point as he commented: “I’m grateful I managed to survive out there today.”
George Russell meanwhile endured a lonely Sprint in fourth as he picked up five points but he wasn’t happy with his performance, which saw him finish 13.429 seconds behind winner – Max Verstappen.
Reflecting on his race pace across the reduced 23-lap Sprint after an aborted start, Russell said: “As for the performance, the gap was more than we were expecting. We were 13 seconds behind after 23 laps, so that’s nearly half a second per lap.
“We need to work overnight to understand why we dropped off the pace. Small things can make a difference – the tyres weren’t easy to manage, and different approaches to downforce levels will play a part tomorrow.”
Discussion about this post