Hamilton endured a frustrating weekend in Jeddah, qualifying eighth and then finishing ninth after a gamble to stay out and gain track position under the safety car failed to pay off. The track layout highlighted the car's below-par performance in fast corners, and Hamilton and his team-mate George Russell were both outpaced by at least one car from Red Bull, Ferrari, McLaren and Aston Martin, effectively benchmarking Mercedes as fifth fastest.
'I mean, I'm racing for ninth, so I definitely can't say that. Finishing ninth is definitely not fun. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes F1 W15, Sergio Perez, Red Bull Racing RB20 Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images 'But I am enjoying the actual racing part. And I was hunting and I was pushing as hard as I could, I was maximising everything I had with the car, I was right on the edge.