Lewis Hamilton is feeling downbeat following another tough weekend at the Monaco Grand Prix.
Lewis Hamilton has admitted that it is ‘unrealistic’ for himself and Mercedes to target a Grand Prix victory as they round off their 12-year partnership together. The legendary Brit will join Ferrari for the 2024 campaign but is unlikely to cap off an iconic stint at Brackley with a race win to celebrate his achievements.
For Mercedes, there are some positives to take from the opening eight races of 2024: they are beginning to understand the behaviour of their car concept. Unfortunately for the eight-time champions, they have been left in the dust by rivals Ferrari, Red Bull and McLaren, and the gap to the top three teams now seems insurmountable before 2025.
The result of such a struggle is that with one-third of the campaign in the rear-view mirror, Hamilton has a season’s best finish of sixth place. This form has been a far cry from his 2023 showings as he stamped his authority on the rest of the field behind the Red Bull duo of Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez.
Hamilton is winless since the 2021 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix and with Mercedes still as uncompetitive today as they were at the start of the ground-effect regulations in 2022, it appears that wait won’t be ending any time soon.
“That’s what we’re working towards, but it’s not realistic,” Hamilton said in Monaco when asked if he can end his Mercedes career with a return to the top step of the podium. “I don’t know how the year is going to evolve. If others plateau and don’t develop and we continue to develop, or if they develop at the same rate as us.
“I don’t know for sure, but I can say that we are still making progress. I cannot predict the future, but I believe our collaboration and determination are motivating and inspiring.”
These remarks were made after a tumultuous week at the Monaco GP, where the British driver seemed to imply that his team was showing favoritism towards his teammate George Russell.
“I’m not sure if it’s a decline in performance, but for some reason, my car seems to lose pace,” Hamilton expressed after being beaten by Russell in qualifying for the seventh time in eight races. “I anticipate it now. Whenever I go into qualifying, I automatically assume that I will be at a disadvantage by a few tenths of a second.”
Hamilton proceeded to give a cautionary message to the media about the remainder of the year, stating that he does not expect to outperform George in qualifying this year.
When pressed to explain his enigmatic remarks, Hamilton took a moment before responding by saying “We will wait and see.”
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