04 March 2023 , 14:28
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Lewis Hamilton showed his frustration with an exasperated radio message at the end of the final practice session in Bahrain on Saturday.
Hamilton and the rest of the grid were going through their final preparations in the morning practice session, before qualifying later in the day. It also provided one of the final opportunities for the driver to practice a standing start before the first race of the season on Sunday.
But the Brit never got the chance at the end of FP3. Mercedes had tried to send him out from the garage at the very end of the session so he could trundle around the track and practice on the start line, but they got their timing all wrong.
They were too late, so Hamilton was blocked by the red lights at the end of the pit lane. While his rivals got the chance to practice their race start procedure, Hamilton was left frustrated on the sidelines.
His race engineer Pete Bonnington warned over the radio: "I think this will probably go red on exit. Keep an eye on it. We'll come and get you." And that prediction came true, leaving Hamilton stranded in the pit lane and clearly irritated.
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As Mercedes mechanics jogged up the pit lane to wheel the W14 back to the garage, the Brit said: "Come on guys. This is twice now." The team confirmed after that it was a timing error made by the team, rather than a problem with the car.
Lewis Hamilton was left stranded in the pit line after a Mercedes timing error (Sky Sports)It remains to be seen what results Mercedes will be able to get in Bahrain this weekend, but Hamilton is not confident. He said after practice on Friday: "We found out we are a long way off the guys in front. We kind of knew that from the test but it's a big gap. We are just on the wrong track.
"It's difficult for everybody and it's certainly not where we wanted to be or where the team deserves to be. There was progress through last year, but the gap wasn't as big as it is now. So do I believe we can close the gap at some stage? Yes. But I think it's quite hard with the concept we have.
"Looking at Red Bull's long runs, they are a second a lap faster. I think I've got the car in the best place I can get it setup-wise. We'll continue to tweak bits here or there but it's going to be milliseconds rather than closing the gap of a second."