At Le Castellet,
To discover
Formula 1: the calendar for the 2022 season
Formula 1: manufacturers' classification
Formula 1: drivers classification
“Best-of-the-rest”.
The best of the rest of the board.
Formerly far from this kind of considerations, reserved for a decade for Ferrari, McLaren or Alpine drivers, this qualification has suited Sir Lewis Hamilton himself for a few weeks.
“
It's my pole position, it's that of the rest of the grid
,” philosophized the British driver, already showered when responding to the media after qualifying on Saturday afternoon.
And for good reason, the Q3 podium must comply with three times more media obligations.
And Hamilton is not P1, but P4.
Read alsoFrench Grand Prix: Leclerc flies over qualification, Gasly crashes
"
One way or another, we can't do better, they are not within our reach
," agreed the seven-time world champion, who will therefore start on the second row of the French Grand Prix this Sunday. (3 p.m.).
They are the Ferraris and the Red Bulls, more supersonic than they thought.
His very honorable last lap of "quali" confirmed the trend: "
You feel that you are achieving a big lap and then you realize that you are relegated to more than a second
"
,
analyzes Hamilton, whose wide eyes reflect the 'astonishment.
The surprise effect has however lived since the start of the season, where the two teams mentioned crush the competition like LH44 and Mercedes in the hybrid era.
Except that behind, the German team missed its approach to the future.
Some spoke of the bluff after failed winter tests, but Mercedes did not assimilate the new regulations very well.
Halfway (11 out of 22 races), Toto Wolff confirms the pain: “
In Formula 1, the clock never lies and today he says that we are not fast.
It's like that, we screwed up mechanically, we screwed up aerodynamically, it's never just one thing, it's a combination
.
Read alsoFrench Grand Prix: where are Gasly and Ocon?
“We have taken another step forward”
But the Silver Arrows remain a (very) solid third force on the board (3rd among manufacturers 67 points behind Ferrari).
Thanks to the talent and regularity of its drivers, including George Russell, literally nicknamed
Mr Consistency
(Mister Regularity) for his 10 top 5s in 11 races (one retirement).
Sign of a stable far from stalled, in any case less and less.
Smiling at Le Castellet, where he will have been celebrated rather than whistled, Hamilton seems to have been affected by the optimism of his new neighbor at Mercedes.
“
Everyone works so hard at the factory, we have taken another step forward here
”, assures the person concerned with elements of language that were foreign to him for a long time.
Policy of small steps.
And it's progressing, as evidenced by a gap between his Mercedes and Leclerc's Ferrari, not beyond the second but slightly below (9 tenths).
Which was not the original idea: “
When I arrived this weekend, I was hoping to find myself 3 tenths behind.
The next one, I hope to get closer to 2 tenths and so on to be able to play for the win again…
”, admits the interested party.
That will wait: “
They fight in a different category, you understand that you cannot do much more.
You can change some things but sometimes it changes absolutely nothing.
Sometimes it's hard to accept."
Read alsoHow Pirelli tires go from the F1 track to the road
Calm and peaceful
However, the native of Stevenage begins to accept it more easily.
Force of habit?
The most positive sequence of recent races?
On the podium of the last three rounds of the championship, each time third (Canada, Great Britain, Austria), number 44 has found the hair of the beast.
A wounded beast, irritated but certainly appeased.
Mostly professional.
“
It doesn't surprise me, even more his professionalism in the analysis of data, sessions, it's clear, lucid, transparent, calm.
The harder it is, the calmer it is.
It's impressive, even for a seven-time world champion
, ”explains his boss Toto Wolff, interviewed at Le Castellet by AFP.
If, as it stands, it is almost impossible, apart from incident, for Hamilton to play for the win this Sunday, at the start of its 300th career race ("
we are too slow in a straight line
"), its progress and that of its car are notable.
He beats his teammate again and is regular up front.
It is still too early to bet on a season without any victory for Sir Lewis, which would be a first in his career.
The developments expected after the winter break (at Spa-Francorchamps on August 28) augur a brighter tomorrow for the record holder with 103 victories.
And the absence of a 104th would not be prohibitive, Toto Wolff assures him: “
He loves what he does, talking about development, helping the team.