Lewis Hamilton is feeling a surge of optimism ahead of this weekend’s Austrian Grand Prix after finally unlocking the key to his qualifying woes thanks to a better understanding of tyre behavior.
The Mercedes driver’s 2024 campaign has been far from ideal, particularly in qualifying. Prior to Spain, teammate George Russell had consistently outpaced him, leading the qualifying head-to-head 8-2.
But Hamilton believes that Barcelona marked a turning point. On Saturday, the Briton secured a crucial third place on the grid, outpacing Russell in the top-ten shootout for only the second time this year.
The seven-time world champion then converted his starting position into a well-deserved podium finish, a performance that undeniably showcased a resurgent Mercedes.
Speaking on Thursday at the Red Bull Ring, Hamilton attributed his newfound pace to a deeper understanding of tyre behavior.
“There has been a huge amount of analysis, and requests of a lot of information from the team, on how we can improve where we are lacking,” he explained.
“It is simply with tyres, and so just continuing to improve on our processes from session to session.
“Typically, once we get to qualifying, things do change a little bit. The car is obviously lighter, you are in the DRS a lot more. Time will tell. But I think we cracked something. Now to try and build on it.”
According to Hamilton, addressing the W15’s aero balance is vital, but optimizing tyre strategy is equally important, as getting tyre temperatures into the perfect window for qualifying laps is the key to unlocking the cars’ true pace.
“The car aerodynamically, is more on a knife edge,” he said. “It's not as easy to balance with the mechanical side and the aero balance from high to low speed. Getting that configuration is difficult.
“But tyre temp and also then how you do your out laps is key, which every single team is trying to sort.
"Just look at the Ferraris in Montreal, who didn't get out of Q2 for example. That could only be tyre temperature, as they have got a quick car and they won the race before that. So it just shows that it's easy to not have the tyres working. It's easy to overwork the tyres.
“They're definitely more sensitive, I think, than any other season that I remember being in.”
©Mercedes
Buoyed by his first podium of the year in Spain, Hamilton admitted the strong result, and the on-track battles, were a much-needed boost after a frustrating and challenging start to the season.
“It feels good to have races like that,” he said. “Sometimes you don’t get to have a race like that – where you get to get your elbows out and have some really fun and challenging overtakes.
“But that was a really good, fun one for me.
“Barcelona always puts up a good race and it’s been a strong one for me for many years. We all need good days like that in our lives, just to remind us that it’s still there and just the fire is definitely there.
“[We] just need to continue to supply it and keep it blazing.”
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