The previous Hamilton slow start that Mercedes can learn from

Lewis Hamilton took a surprise podium in the Bahrain F1 season opener, but his struggles in Jeddah underlined that much work still needs to be done for Mercedes to be contending for wins again. The team will hope that Hamilton's upturn in form after a sluggish start to a season featuring a new rules set, in 2009, can be replicated

For the first time since the 2009 British Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton was knocked out in the first part of Formula 1 qualifying on pure pace, having been pipped to safety by Aston Martin's Lance Stroll. In that, it was a bigger slap in the face for Hamilton and Mercedes than the one Chris Rock received from Will Smith during Sunday night's Oscars.

Hamilton looked all at sea in qualifying for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. Differences in set-up between his and George Russell's cars contrived to carry the latter into Q3, as Hamilton struggled to find enough grip over a single lap and was left uncharacteristically uncompetitive in the process.

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Author Jake Boxall-Legge

Jake Boxall-Legge Autosport’s Technical Editor. Having studied Automotive Engineering with Motorsport at the University of Hertfordshire, West Country-born Jake's original ambition was to design racing cars. During a year between studies in which he accidentally rekindled a love of writing, he took up a Master's in Motorsport Engineering at Oxford Brookes. Halfway through his master's year, he was offered a place on the Autosport Academy, conducting occasional freelance duties before becoming the press officer for Formula 2 and GP3 in 2018. Autosport offered him a return to the fold later that year to serve as its Technical Editor. His voice appears on a number of videos and podcasts, and can often be found writing about terrible Formula 1 cars in excruciating detail. In his spare time, Jake enjoys baking and blames his failure to make it past the Great British Bake-Off interviews on his tenuous grasp on choux pastry. His dream is to open a brunch cafe - and his willingness to make outrageous puns in inappropriate situations has earned him the contempt of his colleagues.