- Lewis Hamilton referred to his 10th-place finish at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix as “gutting”
- Mercedes has no hopes of winning the title in the 2022 season
- Both Hamilton and Mercedes team Mercedes Toto Wolff share the same sentiments
Lewis Hamilton referred to his 10th-place finish at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix on Sunday as “gutting”.
The Mercedes driver insisted that his team is still far behind from returning to the top.
As Daniel Ricciardo and Fernando Alonso stalled at the pit lane entry, Hamilton, who started 15th, had moved up to sixth place following a lengthy stint on the hard tyres.
While Hamilton had planned to make use of the Virtual Safety Car by doing a pit stop, the Englishman insisted it was “too late” due to oncoming traffic and the pit entrance closing when Mercedes instructed him to do so instead.
Lewis Hamilton. Photo/Middle East Eye
The VSC finally brought an end to Hamilton’s race, but he plummeted to 12th and could only make up two positions in the remaining nine laps before the checkered flag waved.
He told Sky F1 that he did his best, and the 10th position was just a statement that the race was hard enough.
“Personally I feel like I maximised everything. I don’t know if we did as a team. It was a difficult one.
“I saw Alonso slowing down, it was double yellow flags so I didn’t push to overtake him, then Daniel was stuck in the pitlane so I didn’t know if I could go in with a car sitting there. It was just not great.”
Toto Wolff, the team’s manager, attempted to explain what transpired saying the double yellow caused a lot of confusion.
“We told him [Lewis Hamilton] to come in but there was a double yellow with one car slowing down, one stationary, so it was just an overall confusing situation.
“He [Hamilton] drove past by and was slowing down because of the confusion, and that made us come out behind Magnussen and obviously then it’s game over.”
Though disappointing, Hamilton is glad he has one point from the race. Hamilton disappointing weekend in Jeddah, finishing 16th in qualifying is not rosy at all.
Even though he had a faster lap time, his best-case scenario was just sixth, and Mercedes lagged far behind Red Bull and Ferrari in terms of speed.
He admitted that he couldn’t keep up with the Haas in the end because of the power they have which he doesn’t have.
The seven-time F1 champion says Mercedes still has a lot to do in upping their performance.
“We’ve got a lot of work to do but I know I’ve got a great team, we’ll keep our heads down and try and improve.”
Lewis Hamilton is not competing to win in 2022. Photo/Planet F1
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen won the Jeddah Grand Prix ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.
Wolff said that his team has a lot to do because the race showed Mercedes was behind pace-wise.
The Mercedes team principal said they are not looking at the top spot. Hamilton in mid-March Hamilton said the Mercedes team was not racing for a win adding that there is a big problem.
At the start of the final test, they showed off a new W13 car that looked very different from the one they used in Barcelona.
Even so, problems with the W13’s balance and purposing (when a car bounces when it loses and gains downforce.
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