Emilia Romagna GP: ‘Title hopes over’ Hamilton concedes

• Lewis Hamilton finished 14th in the Imola sprint race on Saturday, while teammate George Russell finished 11th for Mercedes
• Hamilton does not believe Mercedes can compete for the title right now after Mercedes’s underperformance at the Emilia Romagna GP
• It is said that Hamilton and Wolff exchanged pointed criticisms in the back of the garage on Friday night 
• Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has stated that he does not anticipate the team to win on Sunday

This season, Lewis Hamilton has written off his prospects of earning a record-breaking eighth world championship.

He claimed, ‘We’re not battling for the championship,’ before stating that he would not retire from Formula One.

Hamiton finished position 14 on saturday at the Emilia Romagna GP. photo: Skysports

Every figure represented his current troubles. The latest undeniable truth was revealed following a dramatic finale to the sprint race at Imola, where Hamilton finished 41 seconds behind winner Max Verstappen.

That huge lead grew in just 21 laps, three of which were lost to a safety car delay.

He trails 50 points — two clear grand Prix wins to zero — off leader Charles Leclerc, Saturday’s runner-up for Ferrari. All those startling statistics have accrued after just three-and-a-half rounds of the campaign.

On Saturday, Hamilton began 13th and ended 14th. George Russell, his teammate, did a little better, at least in comparison to his senior companion, by beginning and finishing 11th.

‘We’re not fighting for the title,’ said 37-year-old Hamilton, ‘but to understand the car and improve and progress through the year. That’s all we can hope for now.’

The cracks have shown up this weekend, with Hamilton and team principal Toto Wolff exchanging pointed criticisms in the back of the garage on Friday night after a qualifying session that predicted a miserable weekend.

On Sunday, the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix offers a chance for atonement, but no one in the Mercedes camp is expecting a fairytale ending.

‘We stick together; we try to motivate each other,’ said Hamilton, whose final media call was delayed 35 minutes. ‘Everyone has their heads down. Everyone is working as hard as they can.’

Hamilton clears the air on the Mercedes exit claims

Hamiton stated that he is comitted to Mercedes therefore he can not quit. Photo: MARCA

There has been speculation that Hamilton will leave Mercedes before his contract expires at the end of next year, but that would be underestimating his toughness.

As he said last night: ‘Just because we have hit a rough patch, it’s not in my DNA to pack up. I’ve been at Mercedes since I was 13. We have had extraordinary times together,

 ‘We’re still world champions, and we can fix this. It will take longer, and it will be a painful year that we have to ride out together.

 ‘I hope we can rectify it at some point in the year, or worst-case scenario, by next year.’ highs and lows together, and I’m 100 per cent committed to this team, and there is nowhere else I want to be.

Wolff was also attempting to stay positive despite a lack of speed, which he stated 24 hours before almost forced him to strangle himself, hopefully in fun.

‘It’s hilarious how it’s being interpreted,’ the Austrian remarked of his fiery exchange with Hamilton. Lewis and I expressed our disappointment at not getting a one-lap performance.

“We essentially shared the same viewpoint. There is no one to blame.

‘A points finish probably needs to be the minimum target tomorrow, but that’s not where we set our expectations, so this weekend is a complete write-off. Beyond the fact that we are learning, it’s another humbling experience.’

Emilia Romagna GP as it happened on Saturday

Lewis Hamilton teammate George Russell fineshed 11th on Saturday at the Emilia Romagna GP. Photo: Planet F1

Verstappen won the race in the sprint, and the maximum eight points with a spectacular penultimate-lap overtake on Leclerc, who had made what appeared to be the decisive move off the line, reacting faster than the pole man and eventual winner.

After an early safety car period caused by Alfa Romeo’s Zhou Guanyu colliding with AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly, Leclerc took the lead for most of the day.

However, on the 20th of 21 laps, Verstappen made his decisive move with a clean overtaking manoeuvre on more durable tyres than Leclerc.

Sergio Perez, Verstappen’s teammate, finished third, while Carlos Sainz improved from 10th to fourth and became Leclerc’s closest title rival.

In other words, Ferrari is currently leading and second in the standings.

Hamilton lost two positions behind AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda and Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll on the first lap. Despite gaining one position and repassing Stroll, it was a bad day on a bad weekend for motor racing’s biggest star.