Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes

[Sharrowgirl]

A lot of talk yesterday about how poor the car is and Lewis ‘deserves better’.

But no one is talking about how well Russell is doing in comparison. He drove from 11th to 4th yesterday while Hamilton stayed stuck in 14th the whole race. He’s currently 21 points ahead of Hamilton, after 4 races. They’re driving the same car?

I’m wondering if Hamilton has just lost motivation after Abu Dhabi and his heart’s not in it anymore. Or is there another explanation?

It was always going to be interesting to see how George would do driving the same car. I think he's also hungry to unseat Lewis as no1, whereas Valteri knew he was always going to be forced to be number 2 which was frustrating for him.

I agree with your last point, it must be really hard for Lewis to come back from what happened in Abu Dhabi.

I think it’s a bit early to read too much into it. George is well ahead in the points but it is very early in the season and Lewis is a seven time world champion for a reason. George always had the potential to give him a run for his money, but Hamilton has come back from big deficits before.
The Mercedes isn’t looking like it will be in a fight for the championship but I would not be surprised to see Hamilton sneaking onto a few more podiums and even getting some race wins in the later part of the season if they can sort the car. George may outscore him this year but I think that says more about his quality than Hamilton having suddenly become shit.

It isn’t the same car though… different set ups eg changing tyre pressure gamble didn’t pay off for Hamilton in Jeddah. Also circumstances. Russell had good fortune with safety car in oz. Not enough data yet to show an obvious edge.

I feel like we've seen this before when a driver has had a few years of dominance. They lose the edge for wrestling a shit car through the field. Plus (regardless of Abu Dhabi) someone who would have considered second a failure for years just isn't going to be motivated by the lower points scoring positions. Russell is at a different stage of his career and has different motivations.

All the quotes from Lewis about not fighting for the championship crack me up - yes love, we all knew that from testing.

Red Bull have really impressed me, I can't think of another team who were the team to beat (or one of them) either side of such a comprehensive rule change before.

Hamilton was also stuck in dirty air in a DRS train when no DRS was available for a significant chunk of the race which made overtaking extremely difficult (there wasn't a huge amount of overtaking at all compared to other tracks or races we've had at Imola).

They’re driving the same car?

Not really. Set up between the two cars is going to be very different.

I suspect that psychology is playing a role. If he'd won the championship last year - which he should have done - he probably would be retired now and focussing on his diversity projects and having a chance to live a settled life rather than travelling the world. Motivation is bound to play a part when it looks like he won't get an 8th title this year and will have to ride out this season and then do another one if he wants to be out in front on his own. This would also be a terrible season to retire on if it continues like this.

He's an emotional chap and this must feel shit. Whereas George is young and wants to prove himself and has a lot of years ahead of him in the sport.

Yes - agree OP. Admittedly they have slightly different car specs, but Russell is absolutely knocking it out the park. It’s awesome to watch. Seems like a uch a nice guy.

If I was Hamilton I’d certainly be struggling with motivation after last season. At least Masi is gone, but the whole institution failed him (in my opinion).

I really hope Mercedes get to grips with the bouncing issue. So much talk about imminent changes making a big difference but I’m not convinced. It would be exciting if they figured it out in the next few races. I can’t watch another whole season of Horner being smug in every post race interview…!

Rusell did do really well yesterday, but it’s not the same car and he did have a great start, which is when he made up his places. You could see that Hamilton just didn’t have the pace to get past Gasly. It must be so frustrating, I wonder if he will continue after this year.

I honestly think that once Mercedes manage to get to grips with the porpoising that is going on in their car, the Mercedes will just be like a bullet through the air and none of the other cars will be able to catch them.

I'm loving the fact that Bottas has out-qualified both Mercedes cars and is doing much better than Hamilton because he was kept in the #2 position whether he wanted a win or not. Another benefit of Hamilton being in the mid-range area on the grid is that we're seeing a lot more of the other teams around that area and the battles that are happening between the likes of Alfa Romeo, Alpine and Aston Martin. Even Williams is doing well this year!!!

Something though that was hard to watch was Max overtaking Hamilton during the race yesterday. That must have stung! I would love to wipe the smirk off that Drivers Champion-imposters face.

I'm looking forward to the Miami GP in 2 weeks time. New track, street race, all good in my book!

I'd say Hamilton will stay for this season and next, hoping to win his 8th Drivers Championship and then he'll retire. He wants the 8th win. He'll give the team 1 year to fix the issues and improve the car but he really really wants that 8th Drivers Championship.

Thanks all for your opinions. I guess, as is usual with these things, there’s not a single answer but a number of contributing factors.

I hope he, and the car, recovers his form. I want him to win an 8th championship because not doing so means Abu Dhabi will always loom large over his career and that would be a massive shame.

Enjoying watching Russell and Norris though, they look like they’re having a great time.

I would love to see Hamilton come back and win an 8th. Had to switch it off yesterday once the outcome was clear - couldn’t bear to watch another smug Christian Horner interview. Red Bull make my teeth itch.

Having been robbed of the championship last year I wouldn't be surprised if LH's heart was no longer in it.

Lewis Hamilton has won 7 championships because he bounces back from poor results and has a remarkable ability to stay cool and calm in the face of pressure.
Yes, he has had a great car, but he had also psychologically dominated rivals in equal or better cars. The only reason he was even in contention for the title in the last race of last year was because he’d pushed Max to lose his cool on track. Toto and Lewis had got under the skin of Horner and Verstappen.

He did the same thing to Vettel in 2017, with very memorable results in Azerbaijan and again in 2018 and also had the very clear upper hand mentally over Rosberg 2013-16. He grinds people down. People have been quick to say they think he’s lost it when he’s been behind at this stage in a season in the past, so I wouldn’t count him out.

Having said that, Russell is clearly a real talent.

The cars are not the same though plus George had some luck yesterday and Lewis didn't. Ocon's unsafe release lost Lewis a bit of time. Not to take anything away from George as I think he is a very good driver.

Lewis is a very determined man but also very emotional. He must have been, quite rightly, very upset at what happened last year and quite possibly even if he thinks he is over it, he likely is not.

I agree with another poster that I think unless he wins his 8th championship this year (which is very very unlikely), he will continue next year, hopefully win it then and then retire.

As a massive Lewis fan it is horrible seeing him struggle with the car. Yesterday I felt like crying when Mr Gold Boots overtook him. Part of me wanted Lewis to push him off the track but Lewis is not a dirty driver.

I too switched it off yesterday when Golden Boots crossed the finish line. If Lewis or George can't win the championship this year I want LeClerc to win. I really really really do not want Verstappen to win it.

I’m another one cheering on anyone but Verstappen. I’ve never warmed to him and think he’s got away with things that he should not have over the years.
He called another driver (Stroll?) “retard” and “mongol” on the radio and then refused to properly apologise for it… and Horner defended him. He’s talented, but some of the commentators talk about him like he’s the second coming of Jesus Christ.

I don’t think there’s anyone left on the grid that I wouldn’t prefer to win.

I never see F1 threads on here. I’m quite enjoying having one.

George has had luck with the safety car in a couple of races and Lewis has had bad safety car timing. It looks like Lewis is in a bit of funk. He also has the experience of what a great Mercedes car and team work like, and that's obviously not the case right now so he'll be fighting to come to terms with that too. George doesn't have that, he's just glad to be out of the Williams and into the Merc so he's going to drive it without the reservations the Lewis has. I think that is partly why he is getting better results in the car, at the moment.
I also think Lewis is probably more involved behind the scenes with the engineers in terms of feedback, and also playing some part in keeping up morale across the whole Mercedes team.

Toto is right, the Merc is not a car fit for a world champion. Never seen an F1 car look so terrible on a track! Hamilton seems keen to stick around, but let's not forget that this is the first time in Lewis's F1 career that he is in a car that he can't compete for a win in. That must be galling.

@NandoLorris Its not true that this is the first time he’s had a car that can’t compete for a win. In 2009, after the reg change, Brawn absolutely dominated the first half of the season and Lewis was nowhere near a win until at least halfway through. He also only got one win in 2013 in a season where his car was not a realistic contender for a race win on most weekends.
I also think during the years of Vettel dominance he must also have had stretches of more than 4 races where his car was not really in contention. I know he always picked up some wins here and there but I think there were barren stretches in those seasons. It’s been four races and he’s had one podium and two points finishes. I don’t think that’s the worst stretch of finishes he’s ever had by quite a way.

Yes, I would quite like Leclerc to win if it can't be Lewis or George but anyone but Verstappen.

I didn't mind him when he first came into F1 but over the years he seems to have become more and more arrogant and, as you say, he has used awful language about other drivers. He also is always swearing on his radio to his team.

I agree about the way some of the commentators talk about him. It makes me want to vomit. Anyone would think he had won ten world championships the way they gush over him instead of one dodgy one.

Even before his supposed win some of them were ridiculous in their arse licking. Button and Di Resta are two of the worst offenders. Get the distinct impression the Ted Kravitz is not keen on him which makes me laugh. I like Ted.

I agree it's great having an F1 thread. Me and DH have been fans for over 40 years

Just placemarking really.

once Merc sort the porpoising out, they will come good.
lewis will get his 8th, if not this year, next year.

Verstappen has basically been trained since early childhood by his Dad to be a champion. He did hours and hours in simulators as a teen so has the equivalent experience of someone much older.

I can't bear Christian Horner. Drive to Survive really shows what a toxic atmosphere there is in Red Bull and the way they treat their drivers.

It’s a mark of how astonishingly brilliant & consistent Lewis has been for 14 years that one nightmare weekend is attracting so much comment. He obviously went the wrong way on setup and got stuck behind Gasly whose car was faster in a straight line, so he couldn’t get past even with DRS. George is driving superbly well and is clearly managing to get more out of this crappy car.

Sports fans have short memories. It’s only 8 races ago that Lewis produced one of the greatest performances in the history of motorsport at São Paulo. Lewis’s car was DQd from qualifying for a technical infringement so he started the Sprint in last place. He overtook most of the field to finish P5. Before the main race, he was given a 5 place grid penalty for taking a new ICE so he started 10th. He then demolished the field to win the race. I’m not writing him off yet…

Oh I am certainly not writing him off. He is a brilliant driver and if anyone can pull off a miracle Lewis can.

It's looking pretty unlikely he will win his 8th title this year but you never know. There are many many more races to come and anything can happen.

It makes me laugh really that so many Lewis haters on facebook are now coming out with the "see it was always the car and not the driver" rubbish.

Yep. 100% agree with this.
I mean Seb Vettel has really come into his own since leaving RBR. I honestly hated 'the finger' every time he got onto the podium and when he was winning with them. Now, he's more relaxed and more able to be himself. It must be such a toxic environment to work in. I also remember when Horner wasn't behaving in the way he is now.

I wonder if it has anything to do with Helmut Marko??