Oscar Piastri and Max Verstappen had differing fortunes in Baku (Image: Getty)
George Russell was happy after qualifying fourth for the Austrian Grand Prix Sprint while Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton was much more frustrated by only going sixth fastest
Ted Kravitz told Sky Sports F1 viewers what Lewis Hamilton was doing to find time after losing out to team-mate George Russell.
It was the younger Briton who had the upper hand during qualifying for the Sprint race at the Austrian Grand Prix. He had a smooth session while, in contrast, Hamilton struggled to find a rhythm after almost losing control of his car at the first corner on his maiden flying lap.
The seven-time F1 champion scraped through to SQ2 and then reached the top 10, but again never looked comfortable behind the wheel of his car. And Sky pit lane reporter Kravitz was keeping a close eye on what the 39-year-old was doing to try to address the situation.
“A bit of a gap between Hamilton and Russell,” the Sky F1 reporter said. “I wonder how much that scrappy start to Sprint qualifying has hurt Hamilton? Lewis has been made aware and is looking at that data to see if he can claw some of that time back.”
After the session, Hamilton made it clear he had not enjoyed the session at all. He said: “I wasn’t in the mix at all, our whole session was pretty disastrous from our side.
“What can I say? Practice was good and the car generally felt good, but I don’t think we had the pace to get pole. But, yeah, very bad laps, every single one of them. I don’t think overtaking is mega here, but we’ll do our best. It’s usually not such an eventful race, so I think the focus will be mostly on getting a better qualifying tomorrow.”
As he warned, overtaking was at a premium in the Sprint. Hamilton finished in the exact same place he started, while Russell also did the same but was placed under pressure by Carlos Sainz who fought him throughout for fourth place.
It would have been slightly disappointing for Russell, who had talked up his chances of fighting for the podium but finished several seconds behind the three cars ahead. But he was just happy to have pulled off another qualifying result which demonstrates the progress Mercedes have made in recent weeks.
He said: “Obviously, eyes are on the main race as that’s the most important, but it’s validation again that we’re in this mix now, probably ahead of Ferrari at the moment. McLaren still seem to be a small smidge ahead, but it’s nice to be at the front end.”
Max Verstappen won the Sprint after surviving an early attack from Lando Norris. The Briton had started second but finished third behind team-mate Oscar Piastri, after locking up while trying to get past the Red Bull and losing ground to both as a result.
