Lewis Hamilton hasn’t won a Grand Prix race for two years.
Lewis Hamilton has predicted that he won’t win the Las Vegas Grand Prix after whimpering to an eighth-place finish at the Brazilian Grand Prix earlier this month. The seven-time world champion is the joint most successful driver in F1 history alongside Michael Schumacher but hasn’t won a race for two years amid a downturn in fortunes for Mercedes.
Hamilton won six of his titles with Mercedes during a purple patch for the Silver Arrows. But Mercedes’ F1 dominance came to an end in 2022 after teams were forced to redesign their cars following a string of regulation changes.
Mercedes has been unable to keep up with Red Bull since the new regulations were introduced, with Hamilton struggling for a late podium. And the 38-year-old, who was overshadowed by many of his opponents in South America last time out, does not believe his team can turn things around in the United States.
“I know 100 per cent what happened over there [in Brazil], but in the end we didn’t do a good job,” Hamilton told Sky Sports. “But we learned a lot from that about where we need to go, where we need to grow. Through failure, there is always a lot you can learn, mainly from these experiences.
“When we came here, we hoped for a better approach. But we still don’t know how the car will get there. It’s still not a world championship-winning car and I don’t even think it can be a race-winning car.”
After the Brazilian Grand Prix, Hamilton explained: “For one thing, the car is really unpredictable. I’m sure we’ll look at everything and figure out what we should have done differently, but with just one practice session it’s tough.
“But I’m always proud of the team, they always come here and do their job, they hold their heads high and that’s what we have to continue to do. Let’s keep moving forward. Two more races left with this thing. I hope I won’t drive it again.
However, Mercedes chief Toto Wolff had little praise for Stevenage-born ace and team-mate George Russell, who failed to finish in Brazil, whistling : “[It was] a performance Acting is unforgivable. There are no words for it. That car finished second last week and the week before and whatever we did to it was horrible. Lewis survived out there but George…”