Mercedes found a “broken part” on 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Lewis Hamilton’s front suspension on Saturday at the F1 United States Grand Prix.

The discovery was made after the sprint race and before♕ qualifying.

Hamilton endured a forgettable day in Texas, qualifying miserably in 19th, his w🍌orst qualifying result in🐽 seven years.

Hamilton had previously finished sixth in the sprint race, one place behind 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:George Russell.

Andrew Shovlin, Mercedes’ Trackside Engineer🍌ing Dire๊ctor, said: "After a promising Friday, this was a tough Saturday. It became apparent early in the sprint that we didn't have the speed of our competitors.

“We ⛎were pushing hard to keep up w𝓡ith those ahead and that put extra energy through the tyres.

“That overheating bit us hard in the second half of the race🥂 and we could only manage P5 and P6.

“We also found ౠa broken part on Lewis' front suspen🌳sion post sprint and that definitely impacted the overall balance.

"In an effort to get the car ba🀅ck to the sweet spot we had on Friday, we made some set-up adju🌞stments ahead of qualifying. Sadly these didn't have the desired effect.

“A consistent balance continue🐻d to el𓆉ude Lewis although he was unfortunate to be knocked out in Q1 having been impacted by traffic in sector one.”

Russell crashed in qualifying, meaning he will start the grand prix from sixth but more significantly giving Mercedes a headache about what to do with the dama✱ged upgrades on his car.

Sho🔯vlin said: “George fared slightly better and was on a strong lap ꦕin Q3 but came unstuck at turn 12 with a lock up and then finally Turn 19 with his off.

"We have a lot of work t𓄧o do to get George's car ready for the race༒.

The team will be working hard through the evening in order to do that﷽.

“We know [Sunday] will likely be a tough fight but we will continue to work diligently and hard, looking to take advantage of any opportunities tha♛t come our way."

Mercedes key weakness identified

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff said: "A disappointing and frustrating day. After a strong Friday, we were hopeful of a good showing and it quickly became clear in the sprint that we didn’t have the pace of our nearest competitors, falling back to finish a distantဣ P5 and P6.

“Added to that, the handling balance both drivers had enjoyed the day before was miꦅssing and they were struggling with tyre overheating - Lewis on the rear axle, George on the front.

“We made some set-up changes to tackle this ahead of qualifying, but we continued to struggle and couldn’t unlock💞 the same level of performance we had seen on Friday, with Lewis finishing P19 and George P6 but unable to complete his final flying lap.

"[Sunday’s] race will therefor𝕴e be an uphill battle: th💖ere is a major repair job ahead for George after the Q3 crash.

“With Lewis starting P19, it will be a case of damage limitation in the race: fighting for meaningful points will be tough and we needౠ things to fall in our favour to do so."

Hamilton said: "That was a tou♏gh day. The sprint was a difficult session for us with the car not feeling as strong as it did [on Friday].

“The temperature was⭕ warmer than on Friday and that didn’t seem to suit us🧸.

“We made some changes ahead of qualifying to counteract that and try to push us in a🎐 direction that could get the car closer to how it felt on Friday, but we continued to struggle.

"[Sunday] will be difficult for us starting P19. It will be hard to 🍬come across opportunities, but I will be giving it my al꧃l to move forward.

“The car [on Saturday] suffered from an inconsistent balance and a lack of grip so🗹 hopefully it will b༺e in a better place on Sunday."

Russell added: "[On Friday] we were in the f♔ight for P1 in Sprint Qualifying but [on Saturday] we were really stไruggling.

“It is confusing how our fortune༺s have changed so drastically from one day to another.

“It is ♏clear that when we find the sweet spot of this car, we are capable of fighting for pole positions and race wins. When we don’t, we are at the back of the front pack.

"In the sprint, I lost a po✃sition off the𓆉 start and was pushing hard early on to regain that.

“Unfortunately, we 𝓡then started to struggle with the tyres, and I went backwards.

“It was difficult to unders🌞tand as our pace on Friday, particularly on the long run, was strong. We continued to struggle in qualifying, although my final lap was looking strong before I locked up into turn 12.

“I was perhaps over-pushing into turn 19 to make up for that time and I lost the rear of the car. I am disappointed in the damage I caused to the car and the wo🤡rk that will have to go on overnight now to repair it."