The crucial moments that cost Hamilton in Russell pole fight
The Race • • sports
Key Points:
- George Russell believes Lewis Hamilton "could have got the pole position" at the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix, suggesting Hamilton lost "half-a-tenth to a tenth" of a second early in his final lap that might have made the difference in a close 0.064-second battle.
- Hamilton struggled in practice but improved significantly in qualifying due to better rear grip and confidence, setting the fastest first and second sectors in his final Q3 lap despite a small error in Turn 1 that caused understeer and loss of time.
- Hamilton's final sector was slower than Russell's, especially at the Turn 10 hairpin where he ran wide, ultimately costing him the pole, but he remains optimistic about race victory given Ferrari's strong start-line performance and recent setup improvements.
- The improvements surprised Hamilton, who described the weekend as "very tricky" and credited his engineers for making key adjustments that transformed his pace and confidence between practice and qualifying.
- Despite the challenge of racing without his teammate Charles Leclerc nearby, Hamilton believes winning the race is still possible, highlighting Ferrari's strong performance and his own determination.