Hamilton can't comprehend Verstappen's pace: 'It's just insane'

F1 News

Hamilton has a reality check with result in Austria qualifying
29 June at 16:47
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  • Matt Gretton
  • Editor-in-Chief

Lewis Hamilton has had a reality check after qualifying for the Austrian Grand Prix. After Mercedes made gains over the last two weekends, Hamilton took a step backwards with a deficit of almost six-tenths to pole-sitter Max Verstappen around one of the shortest tracks on the F1 calendar. 

Hamilton finished fifth in qualifying and benefitted from Oscar Piastri's deleted lap time at the end of the session. As a result, Hamilton's hope of a race win has seemingly slipped further away by his own admission.

"We're just going to continue to work on improving. But, yes, the notion of us potentially winning a race this year when you get a half a second gap like today makes it a little bit further down the road. But we've got to keep pushing," Hamilton told GPblog and others in Austria. "I honestly don't know the answer. If I could take a piece of downforce and chunk it on the back, I would, but that's not how it goes."

Was Hamilton surprised by Max Verstappen?

Hamilton confirms Mercedes changed their car after the sprint race. "The car was better. No real major issues. I mean, we're down a lot in the high speed compared to Max. A lot. It's insane how much faster they are in the high speed. I think they're about 12-13 kph faster, which is huge," Hamilton said.

"I wouldn't say I'm surprised [by Verstappen]. I think we always seem to be quick in practice. I don't know if it's fuel or if it's engine strategy that we use and the others don't use, and then everyone else gets faster, and we don't. That's just how it goes," Hamilton concluded.