March 19, (THEWILL) – Lewis Hamilton has expressed his frustration with the Mercedes car after qualifying eighth for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, trailing team-mate, George Russell, by 0.366 seconds.
The seven-time champion said he did not feel connected to the car and that he could not get confidence in it, even after making changes. Hamilton admitted that his lack of performance was “mostly me,” but that the car was also unstable in high-speed corners.
Despite his difficulties, Hamilton denied any plans to leave the team and said he would continue working to get Mercedes to a good place. Toto Wolff, team principal, suggested that both Hamilton and Russell needed a car with certain behaviour to drive fast, and Hamilton had not received any feedback this season that allowed him to push to the limit.
Mercedes have acknowledged that they made a mistake with their car this season, but Wolff said they were making big steps with their research and development.
Russell will start third in the race behind Red Bull’s Sergio Perez and Fernando Alonso’s Aston Martin, after Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc received a 10-place grid penalty for excessive usage of engine parts. Hamilton acknowledged his struggles and promised to keep trying, saying, “there is no such thing as can’t.”
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Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
