P1racenews AI automatic summary:
Lewis Hamilton has been second-best Mercedes driver throughout the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix weekend so far. Mark Hughes looks at what’s going wrong for him
Ferrari, having recently signed an experienced 40-year-old Formula 1 driver and an 18-year-old protege, witnessed the protege’s impressive performance as a late replacement for Lewis Hamilton. Ollie Bearman showcased his skills in Carlos Sainz’s car, outperforming Hamilton in a challenging Saudi Arabian Grand Prix qualifying session. Despite Hamilton making it to Q3, Bearman’s near-miss performance highlighted their close competitiveness, with just a 0.036s difference. The Mercedes team struggled in the fast Jeddah circuit, with Hamilton facing difficulties and trailing teammate George Russell. Hamilton’s concerns with the car’s rear stability and balance impacted his performance through the high-speed corners, leading to a challenging qualifying session. Despite setup changes, Hamilton couldn’t eliminate the car’s bouncing issues, affecting his speed through crucial turns and causing him to lose time to rivals like Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc.
