"It’s just another inconsistency": Lewis Hamilton addresses getting out-qualified by his teammate George Russell for the third race in a row

After getting knocked out of the Q2 session at the 2024 Australian Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton said that the inconsistency with the W15 car "messes" with his mind.

The Mercedes driver finished the qualifying session in P11 after he was knocked out by Visa Cash App RB's Yuki Tsunoda by 0.059s at the chequered flag of Q2. The seven-time world champion never looked comfortable with the car as he was seen wrestling to extract maximum performance on his fastest times lap.

Speaking with Sky Sports, Lewis Hamilton pointed out that the car felt "great" after he finished P4 in the FP3 session, as he was under a tenth behind the fastest lap of Charles Leclerc. He said:

"It felt great in P3. It was strange because we were right there with these guys and we didn’t really understand why. But then going into qualifying, it’s just another inconsistency within the car, it really messes with the mind. George did a good job today. It is what it is. I just have to try to do a better job tomorrow. I think our car is on a bit of a knife edge."

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Lewis Hamilton weighs in on the effects of wind on the W15 during the Australian GP

Lewis Hamilton said that the W15 was "unstable" when the wind picked up during the Australian Grand Prix weekend.

As quoted by the aforementioned source, the 39-year-old was disappointed to not qualify for Q3 and was searching for answers about the lack of performance from the car. He said:

"P1 was a bit better and then when the wind picks up, the car becomes a lot more unstable. And then this morning was nice with calmer wind, and then as soon as the wind picks up it gets a little bit less stable. But the other teams picked their pace up in qualifying.

"I’m not sure why, but the grid didn’t feel the same in qualifying. Even though we had lighter fuel, it felt better in P3. So it’s not a great feeling, for everyone in the team, but we’ll just keep cracking away."

Mercedes would hope for a better showing in the main race on Sunday, with George Russell starting at P7 and scoring a good haul of points.

On the other hand, Lewis Hamilton would want to make a quick start and dispatch the cars ahead of him to join Russell in helping the team challenge their rivals.