Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton was expected to perform far better following a very closely-fought 2021 campaign, but things have gone south for the Stevenage-born man ever since.
Not only did he miss out on an elusive eighth world championship, matters got worse when Mercedes came up with an inefficient car that was plagued with porpoising issues throughout 2022.
The Silver Arrows may not be experiencing the same troubles this year, but the team has realised it got its car design concept wrong for a second year in a row and is looking to come up with an upgrade that will have significant alterations.
What has been more interesting for onlookers is the fact that George Russell managed to get the better of Hamilton in his debut season for the Silver Arrows.
It was only the third time in Hamilton’s 15-plus year career where a teammate finished ahead of him in the drivers’ standings.
Even this year, the youngster looks far more convincing behind the wheels than Hamilton, an issue that Mercedes team principal has also spotted.
Hamilton was noticeably frustrated after his outing in Jeddah, where Russell once again finished ahead of him and almost enjoyed a podium position as well.
“I just don’t feel the car underneath me,” Hamilton said after the race.
“I just don’t feel connected to this car, and I can’t get it. So I don’t really know what I’m going to do about that.
“It’s tough, I’m giving it absolutely everything.”
Hamilton chose to hide behind the excuse fo Russell getting his setup selection right, which he confirmed was not usually the case.
Wolff identifies Hamilton’s major problem
Wolff confirmed that Russell seems to have a better hang of the Mercedes W14, but attributed this to Hamilton’s “lack of trust” in the car, which he felt was imperative for the seven-time world champion to “really push” himself.
“They are different drivers and need a car with a certain handling in order to be able to drive fast,” Wolff said.
“At no point this season has Lewis felt the kind of feedback from the car that allows him to really push himself to the limit.
“If you have a car that you don’t trust, then you can’t push in the corners. That’s what we saw in qualifying.
“George can drive around it better and has more confidence in the car.
“It’s up to us to give both of them a car that they can drive to the front.”
Wolff explained the specific area of concern in Hamilton’s car.
“We have a fundamental issue he’s not happy with, and that is linked to the way he feels the rear end of the car, ” said Wolff.
“And that’s not something that can be cured quickly. But the drivers are the most important sensors in the car and if they tell us that’s what they feel, we need to consider that.”
Hamilton himself feels adding more downforce will dramatically change his fortunes.
“We’re a long way down on downforce,” the 38-year-old said.
“So we’ve got to pick up the rear end downforce particularly.
“The more rear we gain, the more stable the rear becomes, and the more confident I’ll be able to attack.
“But I think in general, just this car, even if we do change that, there’s a specific thing with something on the car that I have never had before.
“It’s a position I’ve not had in previous years’ cars. For me, it’s the thing that is making me uncomfortable. I’ve just got to work hard to make sure it is changed.”
F1 drivers usually use low-fuel runs during qualifying to keep the car as light as possible for higher speed, but Hamilton believes this has only added to his troubles.
“It’s on a massive knife edge when you’re above about 95%,” he said.
“But when you’re in a race stint, it’s much more controllable and predictable.”
Do you think Hamilton can rescue his season and challenge for an eighth world championship? Let us know in the comments.