Karun Chandhok finds Lewis Hamilton comments ‘very strange’ amid loss of form

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Lewis Hamilton is the most successful driver in Formula 1 history, but he’s struggled at times at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Hamilton has only won once in Baku since the inaugural running in 2016.

Even during the height of Mercedes’ dominance in the turbo/hybrid era he had trouble. He finished fifth in 2016 after a crash in qualifying, a result he could only match the following season.

His sole victory to date came in 2018 but he lost out to teammate Valtteri Bottas 12 months later. A dramatic lock-up at the red-flag restart cost him a potential win in 2021, dropping him out of the points.

And he hasn’t finished on the podium on either of his visits in the ground effect era, recording a P4 and a P6. Mercedes are expected to end up in a similar position this weekend based on recent form.

Hamilton won two of the final three races before the summer break but has only scored 14 points in the two since. He recovered to eighth in the Netherlands after a shock Q2 exit, and then finished a rather lonely fifth at Monza last time out.

The 39-year-old has fallen 20 points behind Carlos Sainz in the battle for fifth in the drivers’ championship. Hamilton will replace Sainz at Ferrari next season.

Karun Chandhok can’t believe Lewis Hamilton’s qualifying admission

Hamilton has broadly performed well in the races this year, which is why he’s 36 points ahead of George Russell despite trailing 12-4 in qualifying. It’s among the most one-sided battles on the grid.

The seven-time world champion appeared to be on the path to overcoming his Saturday woes before the break as he bested Russell three times in five races. But he followed up a miserable qualifying at Zandvoort with a disappointing sixth in Italy.

A frustrated Hamilton said after the session that he’s simply ‘not very good’ over a single lap at the moment (via F1). With Russell third behind the two McLarens, he felt he had a car good enough to challenge for pole.

Hamilton has only qualified in the top three on three occasions this year, with his teammate responsible for both of Mercedes’ poles. He holds the all-time record with 104, a whopping 36 ahead of nearest challenger Michael Schumacher, which is why Karun Chandhok is surprised by his 2024 form.

“It’s very strange, isn’t it, when you see a guy who’s had over 100 pole positions stand up in Monza and say ‘my qualifying’s terrible, I’m not a good qualifier at the moment’,” Chandhok said on Sky Sports F1. “But the stats don’t lie.”

The moment Adrian Newey was ‘incandescent’ with rage at Lewis Hamilton

Hamilton hasn’t taken multiple pole positions in a season since 2021, when he was battling Max Verstappen for the title. Many would argue he was at the peak of his powers at that point.

Both drivers found another level amid an epic tussle that culminated in them entering the season finale equal on points. There were multiple incidents along the way.

The first of those came at Silverstone, when Hamilton and Verstappen collided at Copse. The Englishman received a 10-second penalty for the contact, which saw the Red Bull driver crash out at high speed.

Adrian Newey was incandescent with rage afterwards, calling it a ‘deliberate professional foul’. He recalls that it was a particularly acrimonious season behind the scenes too.