Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton took a veiled dig at George Russell after losing out to his teammate at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
While the Silver Arrows showed some improvement over the weekend, with both Russell and Hamilton finishing in the top-5 (4th and 5th respectively), they were still far off the pace set by Red Bull.
It hasn’t been the easiest week for hamilton, who announced his decision to end a seven-year association with personal assistant Angela Cullen on Thursday.
While it initially seemed like a mutual decision, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff suggested that it was Hamilton’s choice.
Lewis has made no secret of his desire to win an elusive eighth world championship, but it appears distinctly unlikely to happen in 2023.
The Stevenage-born driver addressed the media after the race in Jeddah, looking rather glum, a situation that Nico Rosberg felt he summed up quite well.
Hamilton explained why he was outdone by Russell and came up with what can best be described as a far from humble response, regardless of whether it was true or not.
“We work on that. There was like a 50-50 choice. I chose one way and he chose another,” Hamilton said.
“More often than not, the way Russell went is the wrong one. But it just happened to work. So I could only match his pace than be quicker this weekend. But I’ll work hard to make sure we are in a better place next time.”
Mercedes has already been involved an emergency meeting after Lewis felt the team was not heading in the right direction.
Speaking about the race, Hamilton praised George for his credible performance which initially saw him being granted a podium finish after a late penalty demoted Alonso from the podium.
“We got some great points as a team,” Hamilton said.
“George got third, which is amazing. I went forwards, which is always the hope, to at least go forwards, one foot in front of the other.
“So I’m really grateful to have come from seventh to fifth. Strategy just didn’t really work out for me. Set-up was a bit off.
“I think if I had the set-up that George had I would have been in a bit of a better position.
“Lots to work on but there are positives to take from it.”
Note: The words from this interview are from before the FIA correction which reinstated Alonso to the podium, which is why Lewis is referring to George’s result as a P3.