Lewis Hamilton has been out-qualified by George Russell 19 times throughout the 24-race campaign in the 2024 Formula 1 season.
It is the first year that Russell has managed to outqualify Hamilton, marking him the first driver to do so in the seven-time world champion’s career.
In their qualifying head-to-head across all three seasons, Russell has come out on top: 39-29. Even though Nico Rosberg managed to out-qualify Hamilton in 2014, the British driver came out on top across the four years they spent together at Mercedes.
Hamilton managed to out-qualify Russell in their first years as teammates in 2022 (13-9), and in 2023 it was a tie on 11-11 apiece. Russell enjoyed a clear advantage this year, leading to some questions over whether Hamilton has lost his edge.
There is a reason why Hamilton has struggled more this season according to journalist Andrew Benson, who pointed to a ‘contributory factor’ that overshadowed most of his year writing in his BBC Sport column.
Lewis Hamilton’s move to Ferrari a ‘contributory factor’ to losing qualifying battle to George Russell
Hamilton is usually one of the best qualifiers in F1, having achieved 104 poles in his glittering career to date. However, the W15 has been a tough car for him to exploit the potential of this year.
Anthony Davidson is hopeful Hamilton can find his ‘magic’ at Ferrari, while Benson has shed some light on why this season has been hit-and-miss for Hamilton.
“In Las Vegas, I interviewed Mercedes trackside engineering director Andrew Shovlin for a feature on the end of Hamilton’s time at Mercedes,” wrote Benson.
“I asked why Russell had the edge this year, and he started the answer by saying: “George is a particularly strong driver and he is particularly strong on a Saturday.”
“The fact that Hamilton went into this season already knowing that he was leaving for Ferrari at the end of it also has to be considered as a contributory factor.”
Charles Leclerc tipped to beat Lewis Hamilton at Ferrari
Lewis Hamilton will make the switch to Ferrari next year in what is going to be a highly anticipated move for the seven-time world champion.
Nico Rosberg expects Hamilton to be beaten by Leclerc based on his performance this year, based on how he has performed against Russell.
READ MORE: The best moments of Lewis Hamilton’s career in Formula 1
It is certainly going to be an interesting match up given that Ferrari has handed Hamilton several privileges before he has started, including the use of Enzo Ferrari’s old home in Maranello.
Hamilton will also be given access to the right-hand garage slot and Sebastian Vettel’s former engineering team when he joins.
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