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One deleted laptime, a red flag that forced him to switch to soft tyres he ‘pleaded’ to avoid, and scrambling to the line one second before being condemned to starting 15th created a “horrible” Russian Grand Prix qualifying for poleman Lewis Hamilton.
Hamilton dominated the final part of qualifying at Sochi to take a clear pole position by half a second from Red Bull driver Max Verstappen.
“I’m super grateful for everyone just about keeping their cool. It could be a lot, lot worse” :: Lewis Hamilton
And though he is pessimistic about starting the race on the unfavourable tyre compound, he is also aware that the dramatic circumstances that forced him to forego the medium could have ended with him “out of the top 10” entirely.
“It was one of the hardest qualifying sessions that I can remember having,” said Hamilton, who was only 15th when the red flag was thrown with less than three minutes remaining in Q2.
“Everything was just so rushed, and there was panic and there was just all sorts going on.
“I’m super grateful for everyone just about keeping their cool. It could be a lot, lot worse.”
The six-time world champion had his first lap time on medium tyres deleted for a track limits infringement and his Mercedes team instructed him to return to the pits when he wanted to stay out because he didn’t have enough fuel to post another “banker” lap.
“I did plead to have the medium tyre but they weren’t having it” :: Lewis Hamilton
When he emerged towards the end of the session on fresh mediums, Hamilton was comfortably on course for a Q3 place but Sebastian Vettel crashed and the session was suspended with Hamilton just seconds from the end of his lap.
There was enough time for a relatively sedate out-lap and a final flier, but Hamilton was out of fresh medium tyres. That meant his last-gasp attempt to make Q3 would have to be done on one of his slightly used sets, or play it safe on the softs to get a Q3 berth but give Hamilton the unenviable task of starting on a tyre not expected to last that long at all.
“I did plead to have the medium tyre but they weren’t having it,” Hamilton admitted.
Mercedes avoided it because it would have required being at the front of the restart queue to guarantee tyre preparation. And it couldn’t send Hamilton down the pitlane early enough to get that track position as it would require sitting with the engine turned off and starting it on the MGU-K, a facility the Mercedes engine does not have.
Even with the soft tyre, Hamilton’s work wasn’t done. He was eighth in the restart queue and a two-minute wait in the pitlane caused tyre temperatures to plummet, which Hamilton said was the reason he almost spun at Turn 2 on his out-lap and had to take to the run-off – costing him valuable time.
“I could just hear Bono saying ‘Go go go go go go go'” :: Lewis Hamilton
It contributed to him falling 20 seconds behind Mercedes’ ideal schedule and meant he had to force his way past other cars at the end of the lap to make sure he crossed the line before the chequered flag.
“Then I got blocked by the Renault [before the final corner],” said Hamilton, “and I was dead slow in the middle of the last corner about to start the lap.
“I could just hear Bono [race engineer Peter Bonington] saying ‘Go go go go go go go’ so I was just gunning to try and get across the line.”
Bonington’s great urgency over the radio spurred Hamilton to cross the line with just one second remaining. The lap that followed allowed him to progress to Q3, which was a much more straightforward session and ended with a crushing advantage over a slightly baffled Valtteri Bottas down in third.
When asked by The Race how he then calmed himself to avoid spiralling as the session threw so many obstacles his way, Hamilton joked “if I told you, I’d have to kill you”.
“We’re all under immense pressure,” he said. “Probably experience helps massively to know how to regain your focus, because just one millimetre out and you’re way off, you’re making mistakes or you’re locking up.
“I’m on the worst tyre to start on. It has 10 times more degradation than any other tyre” :: Lewis Hamilton
“It is a real challenge, and I don’t always get it right. But I’m really grateful today I was able to.
“That’s probably been a real strength particularly this year, qualifying in Q3, I’ve managed to really be able to centre myself and deliver really impactful laps that count when it really matters. I’m grateful for that.
“And maybe one day I’ll tell you how to do it in a book.”
Just to throw a final curveball Hamilton’s way, he was called to the stewards over a track limits infringement from the first part of qualifying. That perplexed the championship leader, who had to set a second time in Q1 as well because the offending lap was deleted long before that summons.
The stewards ruled no further action, to bring an end an unexpectedly dramatic day to a sensible conclusion. But the consequences of Saturday will be felt on Sunday when Hamilton takes on medium-shod rivals in the form of Verstappen and Bottas.
Usually a turnaround like Hamilton’s would be celebrated and the foundation for a victory that, in his case, would equal Michael Schumacher’s record of 91 wins. Instead it’s bittersweet as Hamilton knows starting from pole is not reflective of the race he is likely to go through, thanks to his tyre disadvantage and the likely loss of track position with a long run to Turn 2.
And that means Hamilton’s work is far from over.
“It’s not a good place to start at all,” he said. “This year you’re seeing that the cars are more draggy and there’s more tow this year than we’ve seen in other years.
“I expect one of these two [Verstappen and Bottas] to come flying by at some point. So I think I’m just going to focus on my race and just try to run the fastest race I can.
“I’m on the worst tyre to start on. It’s a good tyre to do an actual start but it has the biggest degradation, 10 times more than any other tyre I think. That’s going to be a struggle.
“I don’t know if that puts me on to a two-stop. Unlikely because the pitlane is too slow. So, I’m just going to have to nurse those tyres for as far as I can. These guys if they get by, they’re going to be pulling away.
“I’m going to sit down tonight and try to figure out if there’s a different kind of race that I can do tomorrow to keep my position.”
