‘Come on guys’… Lewis Hamilton sends message to Mercedes amid fresh woes at Azerbaijan Grand Prix

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Lewis Hamilton has officially lost the qualifying head-to-head to Mercedes after another disappointing Saturday at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Hamilton took P7, with George Russell two spots ahead in fifth.

It was a familiar story for the seven-time world champion. Friday’s practice sessions looked promising as he set the second-fastest time in FP1 and the third-fastest in FP2.

But if Mercedes made set-up changes overnight, they worked against him as he slipped to 10th in final practice. That proved to be a sign of things to come in qualifying.

Hamilton struggled for pace over the course of the hour, only just scraping into the top 10 shoot-out in ninth. The 39-year-old was the slowest driver from the top four teams in Q3 – McLaren’s Lando Norris had been an early casualty – and only managed to beat Fernando Alonso and the two Williams.

In the other car, Russell was able to split the two Red Bulls, outpacing world champion Max Verstappen. He now leads the season’s head-to-head 13-4, an unassailable advantage with only eight rounds remaining.

Lewis Hamilton complains about temperature issues as George Russell wins Mercedes head-to-head

Following his first lap in Q3, Hamilton asked race engineer Peter Bonnington how far he was off the front. Bonnington informed him the gap was a whopping eight and a half tenths.

“Come on guys,” the frustrated veteran replied. “Get those temperatures up.”

It’s likely that Hamilton was referring to the temperature of his Pirelli tyres. This is determined partly by the blankets in the garage, but also by the driver’s preparation on the out-lap.

He managed to find time on his second run, but couldn’t improve his position. The gap to Leclerc grew to over a second.

Hamilton will have to contend with the supreme qualifying pace of the Ferrari driver next season. The Monegasque has now bagged 26 career poles, which ranks him third on the current grid.

Why Lewis Hamilton is struggling in qualifying this season

Various explanations have been put forward for Hamilton’s uncharacteristic Saturday woes. But with only a third of the season remaining, it looks increasingly unlikely that he’ll find a solution.

Back in June, Hamilton told Mercedes to investigate a potential tyre blankets issue at the Canadian Grand Prix. But that didn’t seem to yield a lasting improvement.

Later, Mercedes told Hamilton to follow Russell in managing the rubber more carefully. The drivers must be wary of overheating the tyres even during their laps, which sometimes requires pushing at ‘99%’.

Speaking at the Italian GP, the 105-time race-winner carried an air of resignation. Hamilton said he’s ‘not very good’ in qualifying right now, which will raise concerns ahead of his Ferrari move.