Lewis Hamilton states “it would have been a breeze today” had he ‘done his job’ in Las Vegas GP qualifying

Lewis Hamilton had a magnanimous race weekend in Nevada during the 2024 Las Vegas Grand Prix. The Mercedes ace was arguably the best driver all weekend after his massive resurgence from P10 to P2 to hand his team another 1-2. However, Hamilton felt he could have done a lot more with a better qualifying on Saturday.

Hamilton has been superior throughout the Las Vegas GP. He claimed P1 in both Practice Sessions on Friday. In FP1, he got the better of his teammate, and in FP2, he was ahead of Lando Norris.

Hamilton, who was running for pole position, saw him in P10 after the short jitter. Despite running the weekend brilliantly, he had to settle for the fifth grid, whereas his teammate, George Russell, who was equally impressive, was on the pole.

"If I'd done my job yesterday, it would have been a breeze today," Hamilton said after the race. "But I had fun coming from P10, we don't know why the car was so quick but that's the best the car has felt. If the car drivers like that in the next couple of races, we'll be able to challenge the guys in front."

After a formidable FP3 with P6, the Seven-time world champion got into the qualifying, where he managed P2 in Q1, and P1 in Q2. However, he lost his momentum at a very crucial time. In his final flying lap in Q3, the Silver Arrows ace lost control of his car for a whisker, and as a result, lost time aplenty.

Lewis Hamilton looked stronger in terms of pace on Sunday as he raced through the field to cover eight places and finish in P2. One could argue that a P1 or P2 on Saturday could have handed the British driver his 106th Grand Prix win.

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Lewis Hamilton rued disastrous qualifying outing

Second-placed Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain and Mercedes - Source: Getty

Following the conclusion of the 2024 Las Vegas Grand Prix qualifying on Saturday, Lewis Hamilton regretted not being on pole. On top of that, he also snubbed the idea of claiming the victory on Sunday.

"Yeah, it didn’t work when it mattered," Hamilton said. "I tried, but it didn’t come off. I should have been on pole. At least I’ve got pace, which is a good showing over the weekend and that’s the positive to take from it. I think the race is kind of done. Obviously the win is out of the question… A great job from George," he added.

While Mercedes finished the race in 1-2 positions, Max Verstappen claimed his fourth consecutive F1 title, ahead of contender Lando Norris. With this recent title, he matched former F1 and Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel.