Lewis Hamilton sees something good, but it’s triple negative statistics in Baku
Lewis Hamilton experienced another weekend to forget in Baku, in this his first season at the wheel of Ferrari that continues to be marked by a long sequence of disappointments. Extracted from Q1 on Saturday and forced to start the Azerbaijan Grand Prix from 12th position, the Briton then finished the race in eighth place ahead of teammate Charles Leclerc, complete with a contentious tail end to the management of positions between the two. As if that were not enough, his Azerbaijani Sunday was marked by three statistics that were all very negative and statements that did not help to throw water on the fire.
Faced with the diplomatic but certainly not satisfied reaction of Leclerc for finishing ninth at the finish line and behind his teammate, Hamilton in fact produced an’analysis in decidedly more positive tones. “We will do internal investigations to see what can be done differently in the next few races – said Ferrari’s Englishman. However, my impression is that we made progress again today. Both the car and the pace were decent, but the rivals were really fast. Overtaking in a race like that was practically impossible, also because it was an abnormal Grand Prix for Baku, with few overtakes. Staying close to those in front proved to be very difficult, and I am definitely disappointed in that aspect”.
Contrary to Hamilton’s Sunday is undoubtedly that of Carlos Sainz. The Spaniard of Williams, who left Ferrari last winter for the very benefit of the seven-time world champion, was able to finish the race in third place by taking advantage of the front row start gained in Saturday’s qualifying. It is therefore curious to observe that he, of all people, managed to secure his first podium finish with his new team (which had not finished a race in the top three since Spa 2021) before his successor at Maranello had a chance to do the same.
Sainz’s magical weekend is evident from another not insignificant detail. Indeed, the Spaniard single-handedly gave as many as 15 points to Williams, while in Baku his emblazoned former teams McLaren and Ferrari collected just 12 counting the contributions of all four of their drivers. A result that was the result of Oscar Piastri’s retirement, Lando Norris’s anonymous race, but also the problems of Leclerc and Hamilton.
The latter still chases his first podium in red, at least as far as the actual Grand Prix is concerned (he succeeded in Shanghai, however, at the Sprint Race). By now his chase has been going on for no less than 17 Grands Prix: a near-record figure in Ferrari history. The’only Cavallino driver to have taken longer was in fact Didier Pironi, who succeeded after 19 attempts. Hamilton, at 17, is the first pursuer in this certainly unflattering ranking, which already sees him ahead of Louis Rosier (15), Gilles Villeneuve and Ivan Capelli (both at 14). An extremely negative streak, which the’former multi-winner driver in McLaren and Mercedes will try to break in two weeks in Singapore.
