Mercedes ace Lewis Hamilton has been winless for more than a year now. The last Grand Prix victory he saw was in the 2021 Saudi Arabia Grand Prix. Only if he could win the final race of that year would Hamilton have been the first eight-time champion. But it still stays hanging because of the poor car. Lately, in Hungary, Lewis Hamilton brought joy to his fans and the Mercedes fans after getting the pole position in the 2021 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
It was his 104th pole position. Previously he had the record of 103 pole positions and 103 wins. Hence, fans thought he might win his first race in the last two years after all. However, Mercedes failed to live up to expectations of Hamilton as he could not even get a podium finish on race day last weekend. Instead, he was again slower than McLaren’s Land Norris and the two Red Bull drivers. Consecutive three times, Norris has beaten Hamilton this season. Hence, Lewis Hamilton wonders how fast Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri have been and where they get their crazy pace.
Lewis Hamilton Could Not Understand How He Fell Nine Seconds Behinds The McLaren Drivers
The seven-time champion had a great qualifying session to remember. But on Sunday, Lewis Hamilton found himself sometimes nine or ten seconds slower than the two McLaren drivers. Moreover, Max Verstappen did not take much time to get back to the familiar place for him this season. On Saturday, Hamilton was 0.003 seconds faster than Max Verstappen, but the next day the dream was over for Mercedes. Later on the Sunday race, Lewis Hamilton on the radio expressed his shock, saying, “Where did they get the crazy speed? Nine seconds? That’s a crazy amount.”
Hamilton was speaking to the Mercedes engineer Peter Bonnington asking him if the car was slow and where he was losing those precious seconds. Moreover, Lewis Hamilton asked if the team was turning the engines down. The team replied, “No, instead, we are looking at how to better the temperature condition.” Due to more confusion, Hamilton was falling further behind. But he made a good recovery, in the end, to beat Oscar Piastri to get the fourth-place finish.
The Seven-Time Champion Blamed The Awful Balance Of W14
It is a pity as the fans expected him to become the first driver to win nine races on a certain track. But that did not happen on Sunday. After securing the pole position, Hamilton said, the car was giving him more confidence than before. But after the final race day, Lewis Hamilton said the balance of the W14 car, even with all the new upgrades like the new front wing, is awful.
Mercedes has a lot to figure out before the 2024 season begins. Clearly, their rear end is causing a lot of trouble as well as balance issues are troubling Hamilton and Russell. Moreover, the team introduced new upgrades since Monaco Grand Prix. But the team has seen very gradual progress. They have gained a few podiums since then but have not been consistent.
