Welcome at RacingNews365

Become part of the largest racing community in the United Kingdom. Create your free account now!

  • Share your thoughts and opinions about F1
  • Win fantastic prizes
  • Get access to our premium content
  • Take advantage of more exclusive benefits
Sign in
Lewis Hamilton

Hamilton provides frustrated Mercedes assessment in Australia

Lewis Hamilton placed 13th at the end of Friday's second practice session in Australia, with teammate George Russell in 11th.

Hamilton Australia
Article
To news overview © Mercedes

Lewis Hamilton says his Mercedes car "doesn't seem to want to improve", despite the best efforts of his team to extract more performance from it.

The seven-time World Champion placed 13th as the chequered flag fell on FP2 for the Australian Grand Prix, with younger teammate George Russell in 11th.

The Mercedes appears to be close to 1.4 seconds slower than the time-topping Ferrari over a single lap, leaving the team with plenty of work to do before Saturday's qualifying session.

But no matter what the eight-time Constructors' Champions do to try and cure their problems, no progress is being made, according to Hamilton.

Hamilton: Mercedes car doesn't seem to want to improve

Mercedes made changes to Hamilton's car after FP1, a session that saw him place seventh, but they did not have the desired effect.

"It's just, nothing you change on the car makes a difference at the moment, so that's the difficult thing," Hamilton said.

"You're getting very optimistic and then you make changes and it doesn't seem to be wanting to improve.

"We made some changes going into FP2, but FP1 was better. FP2 ended up being a bit harder for me. It's just a tricky car."

Hamilton downbeat after FP2

Hamilton was visibly downbeat as he addressed the media following his Friday running in Melbourne, adding: "There's not a lot we can do."

Mercedes do have one more practice session to come before qualifying, offering them another hour on track to continue to build their understanding of the W13.

"I don't think it's gonna be tricky to fight our way back, it's just that there's not a lot we can do, this is the way it is – we just have to drive with it," added Hamilton.

"That's the frustrating thing, because you're trying to push, you're trying to catch and, even when you do a decent lap, it's 1.2 seconds down, so it's difficult."

Also interesting:

F1 Podcast: Can anyone stop the Verstappen/Leclerc show?

RacingNews365.com F1 journalists Dieter Rencken, Mike Seymour, and Thomas Maher look back over the Saudi Arabia Grand Prix in Jeddah, which was won in dramatic fashion by Red Bull's Max Verstappen.

F1 2022 Australian Grand Prix RN365 News dossier

0 comments

x
Breaking McLaren poaches key Red Bull technical team member