Hamilton and Mercedes Endure Nightmarish Start to F1 Season: “Brutally Painful”
Lewis Hamilton, the seven-time Formula One champion, finds himself grappling with the worst start to a season in his illustrious career, as he and his team, Mercedes, navigate through a tumultuous beginning at the Australian Grand Prix.
Hamilton’s sentiments echo the frustration and disappointment shared by Mercedes’ team principal, Toto Wolff, who candidly admitted to the agonizing challenges faced by the team.
The Australian Grand Prix proved to be a bitter pill to swallow for Hamilton and Mercedes, with the British driver retiring due to an engine failure on lap 17, while Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz clinched victory.
Hamilton’s struggles extended throughout the weekend, as he qualified a lackluster 11th and failed to make significant progress during the race before his untimely exit.
With only eight points garnered from three races this season, Hamilton finds himself in uncharted territory, surpassing even his previous nadir in 2009. The recurring theme of Mercedes’ inability to deliver a competitive car at the front of the grid has cast a shadow over the team for the third consecutive year, leaving them trailing behind rivals Red Bull, Ferrari, and McLaren.
“This is the worst start to the season I’ve ever had for sure and it’s worse than 2009,” he said. “It’s tough on the spirit for everyone in the team. When so much work is going on throughout the winter for everybody, you come in excited, motivated and driven, and then you’re with the mindset that you’re going to be fighting for wins.”
“Then obviously that’s not the case and you’re like: ‘Okay, maybe second, third’. No, it’s not the case, and it cascades a bit further down and you just go through the motions. It’s challenging.”
Hamilton’s despondency was palpable as he expressed the toll the disappointing start has taken on the team’s morale, lamenting the shift from anticipation and motivation to resignation and disillusionment. The sentiments were echoed by teammate George Russell, whose crash on the final lap further compounded Mercedes’ woes.
Despite entering the season with optimism fueled by a revamped design philosophy, Mercedes finds themselves grappling with familiar issues, as the car fails to meet expectations in terms of performance and reliability.
Wolff, a stalwart figure at Mercedes alongside Hamilton, conceded to the bitter reality of their predicament, acknowledging the stark contrast in progress made by rival teams McLaren and Ferrari. While reflecting on his leadership role within the team, Wolff remained resolute in his commitment, acknowledging the fair question of whether he should step down but affirming his determination to overcome the challenges ahead.
“You see the progress that McLaren and Ferrari have made, so on one side, I want to punch myself on the nose,” he said. “We have got to really dig deep because it is brutally painful.”
“I would be lying if I said I feel positive and optimistic about the situation. You need to overcome the negative thoughts and say ‘we will turn it around’, but today it feels very, very, very brutal.”
“I look at myself in the mirror every single day about everything I do and it is a fair question but it [leaving] is not what I feel that I should do at the moment,” he said.
As Mercedes confronts the harsh realities of their current situation, the road to redemption appears fraught with obstacles. With the season in its infancy, Hamilton and Mercedes face an uphill battle to reclaim their dominance in the fiercely competitive world of Formula One.
