Lewis Hamilton Demands Answers After Mercedes’ Dominant Australian GP Qualifying

Sunday at 4: 00 a. m. ET — Mercedes secured a front-row lockout in Australian Grand Prix qualifying, and Ferrari driver lewis hamilton said he wants to “understand” the Silver Arrows’ apparent power advantage after the session; the gap could shape the championship in the coming months.

Lewis Hamilton Questions Mercedes’ Sector Power in Melbourne Qualifying

lewis hamilton said Mercedes delivered “two tenths or more just through power, per sector, ” and he wants to know why the team looked so strong in qualifying. Hamilton qualified seventh after energy-deployment issues from Ferrari’s unit, and he raised the longstanding compression-ratio debate as part of his concerns.

Russell’s Pole and the 0. 785-Second Margin Over Nearest Rival

George Russell took pole for Mercedes with team-mate Kimi Antonelli locking out the front row, and the Silver Arrows held a 0. 785-second advantage over the nearest non-Mercedes driver, Isack Hadjar in third. McLaren and Ferrari were both over eight tenths of a second off the pace, and Hamilton’s Ferrari lay 0. 960 seconds adrift in seventh.

FIA Test Set for June 1 and Hamilton’s ‘Few Months’ Title Warning

The FIA confirmed a compromise will introduce a new compression test from June 1 that measures limits at ambient temperature and at 130 degrees, with the change scheduled after the season’s seventh round as it stands. Hamilton warned that if Mercedes keeps this level of advantage for “a few months, ” it could hand the team a commanding lead in the championship.

Hamilton also said the car felt “much better” and that “we could have been third today, ” noting the car’s drivability but pointing to power as the decisive factor on the lap times shown in qualifying.

Next confirmed event: the Australian Grand Prix race starts Sunday at 4: 00 a. m. ET, with a 2: 30 a. m. ET build-up.