Hamilton 'dejected' at 'floundering' Mercedes – Jordan

Former F1 team owner Eddie Jordan believes Lewis Hamilton is already feeling "dejected" with the current performance of Mercedes after a disappointing start to the new season.

Following the launch of the W15, Mercedes believed it would see an improvement in performance compared to the struggles of the past two years.

However, this has not been the case as the Silver Arrows are considerably slower than Red Bull both in one-lap pace and race trim, whilst it has also failed to mount a challenge to Ferrari in the opening two rounds of the season.

Assessing the first stanza of the new campaign, Jordan told the Formula For Success podcast: "We were all thinking maybe four weeks ago, maybe McLaren have something up their sleeve, they've got a really good chance, and they could come up there.

"But they're not in the same league as Red Bull, and Mercedes are floundering in my opinion. I think I have to give some credit to Fred [Vasseur] at Ferrari. And I'm sure he can't wait to get his hands on Lewis."

'Same as last year'

Those hoping of a fitting Mercedes farewell for Hamilton have been left bitterly disappointed, with the seven-time World Champion having finished seventh and ninth in the two races this season.

Hamilton is already 43 points behind Max Verstappen, with Jordan being unsure how the Silver Arrows are going to salvage any strong results given the current performance of the W15, something he thinks is already bothering the 39-year-old.

"Lewis, I think, is a bit dejected already with the state of Mercedes," believes Jordan. "It's the same as last year isn't it, they've started poorly. And it's very hard to catch up when you've got somebody who has 51 points on the board or something like that already with Max.

"I mean, it's just ridiculous. How is Mercedes going to compete? So the problem I think, for all the other competitors is, other than Ferrari, I cannot see anyone making a serious challenge to this Red Bull team."