Hamilton after home GP Qualifying: ‘Wake-up call for us’
F1 News
Lewis Hamilton finished in seventh place in qualifying in Silverstone. After the seven-time world champion did the second best lap behind Max Verstappen’s Red Bull on used softs, his second lap was not the best, leading him to start behind the two McLarens, the two Ferraris and teammate George Russell tomorrow.
"It was a fun session in terms of trying to get on top of the tyres and the wet patches here and there. It was a good session," Hamilton said after qualifying where GPblog is present.
Hamilton wasn’t short of praising his former team either. "I'm not surprised. I mean, if you look at the car it makes sense and I'm really happy for them, you know. They've had such a bad run for so long. So to be back up there is really, really great to see. If you just put [McLaren’s car] alongside a Red Bull it looks very, very similar down the side and it's working. So it's great. Now we have another team up in the mix, which is what we want to see in this sport."
He added: "It's [McLaren’s performance] not a blow, it's just a wake-up call for us. Others are overtaking us, so we need to do more."
'A great performance for the fans'
Looking ahead, Hamilton expects a difficult race for Mercedes in Silverstone. "Of course I'll try and be optimistic and do my best, but realistically I'm not sure. We'll find out. It was difficult to get past the two Ferraris and then I've got two McLarens around there. It's going to be a tough race."
Hamilton also thanked the support of his fans at his home race, and hopes to give them something to cheer about tomorrow. "It's always a great feeling to be here for the British Grand Prix. You always hope that you have a great performance for the fans. So, naturally today is a bit disappointing that we can't have no more, but hopefully tomorrow we can give them a great performance."