Lewis Hamilton is frustrated with a lacklustre performance at Austrian Grand Prix as the British driver vents his anger toward the Mercedes car. In a disappointing turn of events, Lewis Hamilton expressed his dissatisfaction with his seventh-place finish at the Austrian Grand Prix.
The Mercedes Formula 1 driver had initially made progress by moving up to the fourth position from a fifth-place start, but his performance deteriorated as the race unfolded, leaving him disappointed and seeking answers.
Hamilton frustration with Mercedes
Hamilton candidly shared his frustration, stating, “I didn’t really have any fun battles on the track, I just dropped down the order.”
He attributed his annoyance to the sluggishness of his car, describing it as “a bit slow.”
The seven-time world champion expressed confusion about the lack of pace, particularly on this circuit, stating, “I think this circuit highlights the true performance of the cars, and for some reason, it was poor here.”
READ MORE – Marko: Verstappen “allowed” to defy team orders
McLaren benchmark for Mercedes?
While Hamilton was disheartened by his own struggles, he also praised McLaren F1 for their progress, particularly Lando Norris’ impressive fifth-place finish. The two drivers engaged in intense battles throughout the race, adding an element of excitement to an otherwise challenging day for Hamilton.
The penalty Hamilton faced was partly a consequence of a different car setup. He revealed that he encountered understeer, a handling issue he had not experienced before.
Hamilton allegations about Verstappen
Hamilton: Mercedes has ‘regressed’
The Oxford English Dictionary states that the word ‘regressed’ to be:
/rɪˈɡrɛʃn/ [uncountable, countable] regression (to something) the process of going back to an earlier or less advanced form or state.
If Lewis Hamilton’s current grammar and understanding of the English language are up to speed, then this is a truly damning statement to make when describing the performance of his recently updated Mercedes AMG W14 F1 car.
“The feel of the car doesn’t surprise me but it’s regressing and that’s embarrassing. Lando did a great job today, McLaren was super quick. I didn’t expect them to be as quick as us, but we didn’t expect to be as slow as that either!”
Hamilton calls for FIA “equalisation mechanism”
Mercedes ‘ad-hoc’ fix
In an attempt to address the rear-end instability, the team reduced the front downforce, but this adjustment proved counterproductive.
Hamilton explained, “We took a lot of downforce off the front. We knew we had a bad rear end here, so we took off a lot of front wing to try and keep the balance so we could do a long stint and go far. But I was almost at maximum angle in the last two corners. At Turn 10, the car was sliding and there was nothing I could do.”
Fortunately, during a pit stop, the team made changes to revert to the initial setup, which provided some improvement. Hamilton shared the story saying: “During the stops, we then added a lot of downforce on the wing. The car started to come back slowly to at least be more agile and stay on the track.”
Hamilton “wrecked” another’s F1 career
Russell perplexed…
Meanwhile, Hamilton’s teammate, George Russell, finished just behind him in eighth place. Russell expressed surprise at the lack of performance and speed disparities compared to the previous race in Spain, where the car demonstrated better performance. He emphasized the importance of understanding the reasons behind the struggles, particularly the influence of the tires.
“I’m sure we’ll get to the bottom of it, but we’ve still got the same car as two races ago in Barcelona where we were very quick, so the only thing that’s different is the tires, something we need to understand,” Russell explained. \
Acknowledging McLaren’s strong showing, he added, “We need to understand what went wrong on our end. The car moves a lot, a little less well than on the other circuits, but the pace is definitely not as good as we expected. We need to get to the bottom of things.”
READ MORE: Russell blocks Hamilton contract demands
no penalty for Max? WHAT JOKE IS THIS#F1 #Formula1 #AustrianGP pic.twitter.com/LV91Nu8VAJ
— 33 (@geniisf1) July 1, 2023
Silverstone could be better
Looking ahead, Hamilton remained hopeful for improvements at the upcoming Silverstone race. He expressed optimism that the team’s progress would continue but acknowledged the significance of circuit-specific challenges.
Hamilton concluded, “Clearly it depends on the circuit because we were nowhere here, and with the same car, we were good in Canada and quick in Barcelona. It bodes well for Silverstone because Silverstone is closer to Barcelona than this circuit.”
READ MORE: 1200 times cars exceeded track limits!
