Following the first qualifying event at the Bahrain Sakhir Circuit came a lot of speculation, media, celebrations, and disappointment. While Red Bull’s Max Verstappen had no problem getting the pole, Ferrari was right behind them. But one team that didn’t do as well was Mercedes.

Although George Russell will be starting the race in P3, Lewis Hamilton will be starting at the center of the grid in P9. But why did the 7-time world champion clock in such a bad lap time during the Bahrain qualifier? This would be better answered by none other than Peter Windsor.

Lewis Hamilton’s apparent fuel-efficient drives

Peter Windsor uploaded a video on YouTube where he gives the breakdown of the Bahrain 2024 qualifiers. About the 39-year-old driver, Windsor said, “One of the strange things about qualifying was the performance of Lewis Hamilton, given how good he was on Thursday on light fuel, and the fuel runs, and the car looking very good.” He continued, “George Russell went a different direction overnight, they say, in terms of getting a performance lap out of the car, whereas Lewis went in the direction of really making this car work on a heavy load of fuel, they say, and that’s the difference it seems.”

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Adding to that, the Motorsport personality explained, “I mean, we often hear when drivers don’t go particularly well in qualifying, the cop-out answer is always, ‘Oh well, you know, I’ve got the car set up for full fuel or the car’s really good on a fuel race distance.'” Peter Windsor was not quite sold on the idea that Hamilton didn’t make time due to fuel management in the car but believed that there was more to it.

Unable to understand the strange starting position that Hamilton will start with at Bahrain, he said, “Let’s hope that’s the case tomorrow with Lewis in terms of how they looked on the circuit. George on the absolute edge, as I say, totally reflexy, balancy car control lap, not the sort of lap that he could do reproduced twice over, I don’t think, without making a major mistake, and he almost lost it through turn six, that downhill quick corner, whereas Lewis never really looked that quick in the car. He looked about as he did yesterday, just the lap time wasn’t there.”

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Winsor is convinced that the car is competitive but it was the 7 time world champion not performing his best in it. Having a slightly different setup compared to P3 George Russell, still had fans expecting a better performance from Hamilton, but nevertheless, the race still remains.

Will Ferrari be a problem for Mercedes?

From the qualifying itself, it’s getting clear that Lewis Hamilton is not happy with his car. On the other hand, Both Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz Jr managed to lead one of the qualifying rounds. It’s safe to say that the two scarlet drivers are happier with their drive compared to the Briton.

Ferrari has been at the tail of Mercedes for a while now, and judging by the qualifiers, the two drivers look quicker than ever. With the race about to start, it looks like Ferrari is prepared to escape the split stream and overtake the Silver Arrows, once set for all. Even though Frederic Vasseur has decided to bring in Lewis Hamilton, beating him this season is key for the team.

That being said, do you think Ferrari will be a problem for Toto and Co? Will Lewis Hamilton pull up his socks and surprise the world at the start of the 2024 season? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.