2022 Saudi Arabian GP: Post-Race reactions from Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes

World Champions Mercedes struggled to match rivals’ pace at 2022 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix as their drivers finish the race in P5 & P10 to finish in points for the second consecutive race.

George Russell brought the W13 home in P5 with a measured drive, having made an early pass on Ocon, before running in free air for the majority of the race. Lewis finished P10, having started in P15, running an offset strategy to the majority of the
field on the Hard tyre.

A Safety Car on lap 17 came too early for Lewis to box and switch to the Medium, while a late virtual safety car and a slowing Ricciardo at the pit entry prevented the team from taking advantage.

Today’s race marked Lewis’s 180th start for the Mercedes F1 team, setting a new record for the most starts with the same constructor.

Lewis Hamilton (P10)

“Balance-wise, the car felt good, but just not fast enough. The end result isn’t great but the race was going relatively well, I was struggling with tyre temperatures at the beginning but then I started to gain on the cars ahead on the Medium tyre, it was a really good stint. I was keeping up with George and putting in some decent lap times considering how old the Hard tyres at the end.

We were unlucky with how the VSC played out at the end but I was giving it everything. Yesterday made the weekend so much harder and I take that on my shoulders. It’s gutting but we need to keep fighting, it’s all we can do – I know I’ve got a great team and we’ll just keep our heads down.”

George Russell (P5)

“It was a strong race in terms of maximizing our potential points today, the car felt good but we’re just lacking downforce because we can’t get the car to run close to the ground. We got the car in a nice window and I was pushing as hard as I could, it was probably the most physical race I’ve experienced in F1, 50 laps at the limit on a fast street circuit – I just want to be doing it fighting for victory.

Everybody is working as hard as they can to close the gap to Red Bull and Ferrari, every single person at Brackley and Brixworth wants more and we’ll continue to push until we close that gap. This first part of the season isn’t packed with races, the calendar isn’t too dense, so it gives us some time to find solutions. We aren’t here to fight for P5 but you’ve got to take the positives. The race was enjoyable to drive, this track is probably in the top five of the year, incredibly fast and with fantastic grip.”

Toto Wolff, Team Principal

“Today’s race was the reflection of where we currently stand. The performance gaps seemed to be similar in qualifying and the race, and clearly, there is a lot of work for us to do in order to get into the fight at the front. George managed his race well and scored the maximum we could have hoped for today without any incidents ahead of him.

For Lewis, it was always going to be a difficult afternoon from P15. The first Safety Car came too early to run to the end on Medium, so we stayed out like other cars that started on Hard; then we missed the opportunity to box just before the pit lane closed under the VSC, which cost us a couple of positions. The overall picture is sobering, and it’s clear that we need to continue working hard if we wish to deliver a stronger performance in Melbourne”

Andrew Shovlin, Head of Trackside operations

“It’s been a tough weekend and we need to go back and regroup ahead of Melbourne. The circuit here has been more difficult for us than Bahrain and we’re under no illusions where we stand at the moment but we need to remain focused and effective. We have an enormous challenge ahead of us, but over the last eight years the team has been able to get on top of every performance issue that we have faced.

We’ve been able to do that because we have so many talented and dedicated people in the team both in Brackley and Brixworth. We certainly have our work cut out over the next weeks and months but we are more determined than ever to get ourselves back fighting at the front.”