Lewis Hamilton: This gap was a blow to us

Mercedes is angry about the results of qualifying in Spa because they were not able to achieve the speed they expected from the car. However, due to the power plant replacement fines that many drivers have received, Lewis Hamilton will have to start from 4th position and his partner from 5th.

Lewis Hamilton (7th): “The team is working hard to improve as we came to Spa with a very optimistic attitude, hoping to close the gap, so the loss of 1.8 seconds was a real blow to us.

We continue to struggle with the car and when I say goodbye to the W13 at the end of the year, I certainly won’t regret it. The two teams ahead of us are in the other league and we are lagging behind. It is necessary to reorganize somehow and make sure that next year we have such a car as we need. However, we must try to get the best possible results in the remaining races of this season.

On straight lines we are hindered by excessive drag and in corners – an imperfect aerodynamic balance, which is reflected in the unstable behavior of the car. Dealing with this is not so easy, but we will do our best to prepare for the race.

Because I know how hard everyone is working, I worry about the team because we give everything, but the problems with the car are fundamental, with the result that sometimes it works well, sometimes very badly.

George Russell (8th): “It doesn’t cross my mind how we managed to take pole in the previous stage of the championship, if we lost 1.8 seconds today! In addition, they not only lost to Max Verstappen, but even six tenths to Alpine.

In cold weather we start to have problems, it is difficult for us to warm up the tires and this year we already had this in Imola. I have no doubt that in the race we will be capable of a higher pace than Alpine, McLaren and Williams, but Red Bull and Ferrari are losing 0.5 to 1.0 seconds per lap.

In the evening we have to analyze everything and try to understand how to increase the pace, but in any case it is good that qualifying is over, because this is our weak point. I’m sure we’ll go faster tomorrow.”

Toto Wolffteam leader: “The qualifying result was very disappointing, despite the penalties that others got, which allowed us to move up a few positions.

Four weeks ago we were on pole in Hungary, although we were helped there by some unusual circumstances. But today we lost 1.8 seconds to the pole position holder. Everyone in the team believes that such a lack of pace is unacceptable, although even now, after 14 races, we still have not learned how to achieve a stable speed with this car.

It looks like we’re getting in the way of the high drag on the straights and this weekend both drivers are complaining about the balance of the car, preventing them from driving confidently. I hope we can show a higher pace in tomorrow’s race, although we know we have a lot of work ahead of us, regardless of where we finish.”