After scoring a wholly unexpected podium finish in the opening race of the Bahrain Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton returned to Mercedes reality in 2022 by failing to get past 10th place and scoring just one point at last year’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
The regulation change seems to have affected the German team much more than some of its rivals, with Ferrari and Red Bull occupying the top positions of the grid pecking order at the start of the season, while Mercedes tries to settle for being the best team from the rest, a task that is not being easy for them either.
In Australia and despite having a rest week compared to the last race, the German team decided not to incorporate major updates, something that has meant that the British driver has not managed to improve his feelings in the first practice sessions.
Hamilton finished seventh in FP1 1.2s off the fastest time, while he could only manage 13th in the second session, 1.5s behind Charles Leclerc, who set the fastest time in FP2.
After the first day of action on the track at the Australian Grand Prix, Hamilton spoke to the media present, including Motorsport.com, and stated that his feelings were not all bad: “I feel good, I feel good, but it was a difficult session.
However, he was critical of the nature of the W13, which seems to behave very strangely even if they change settings and make minor improvements.
“Nothing we change on the car can make a difference at the moment. You get very optimistic, then you make changes and it doesn’t seem to want to improve.
“We made some changes in FP2 but definitely FP1 was better. The second session ended up being a bit more difficult personally. So I don’t know, it’s a difficult car overall,” added the Briton.
Despite everything, Hamilton was positive about the chances that Mercedes will be able to turn the situation around, although right now he acknowledged that it is frustrating.
“Well, I don’t think it’s going to be difficult to find the way forward. It’s just that there’s not much we can do, that’s the way it is.”
“I just have to drive what I have and that’s the frustrating thing – you’re trying to push as hard as you can and even when you do a lap that you think is good, you’re 1.2 seconds off [the leaders]. So it’s tricky.” World Champion.
