Lewis Hamilton is seeking a strong rear-end from his Mercedes having struggled throughout Saudi Arabian Grand Prix practice. The seven-time champion was eighth-fastest in both Thursday sessions at the Jeddah circuit, nearly half-a-second behind team-mate George Russell in the second hour of practice. Throughout the running, Hamilton complained of a lack of rear grip from his W15 machine, as he and Russell diverged on set-ups throughout the day. Russell would end FP2 second fastest behind Fernando Alonso, as Hamilton was left searching for answers, having also been issued with a warning for impeding Logan Sargeant in an incident during FP2 for which Mercedes was also fined €15,000.
"It was a difficult day, and I was just lacking confidence in the rear of the car," Hamilton explained. "We did some work session to session, and changed the car quite a bit, but the underlying issue with the rear-end [remained], so I was struggling quite a bit. "I had a couple of really big moments out there - and in these high-speed you need to have full faith in the rear of the car, and I just don't have that yet. "We are going to have to go through the data and stuff, but George is obviously a lot happier with his car. "We went in different directions to try different things to try and find the right solution for the car, but all I want is a stable rear - and then I will be happy."
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