'Stubborn' Hamilton opens up on F1 qualifying struggles

Lewis Hamilton has opened up on his one-lap pace struggles this season as he admits he is “stubborn” in the face of change.

The seven-time world champion is trailing team-mate George Russell 10-4 in the qualifying head-to-head battle during his final campaign with Mercedes ahead of his switch to Ferrari.

Hamilton is widely regarded as one of the sport's greatest-ever qualifiers and holds the record for the most career pole positions with 104.

However, he hasn't gelled with the current generation of car which was introduced in 2022 under a new set of technical regulations.

Despite his woes, Hamilton has been reluctant to change his driving style to accommodate the behaviour of Mercedes' recent challengers.

“I’m stubborn, I keep trying to drive the way I want to drive,” Hamilton told media including RacingNews365.

“But then I realise it doesn’t always work and then I try to massage my way through. But it’s not worked that well.”

Hamilton signals 'adaptive' approach

Having struggled for a handful of years under the current set of technical regulations, Hamilton has enjoyed a stronger run of form of late, winning twice across the last three races.

The 39-year-old highlighted the need to be adaptive when it comes to driving outside of his comfort zone.

“Still to this point, I think ultimately as a driver, you have to be adaptive and you have to concede that sometimes your approaches to certain things aren’t perfect,” he said.

“You just start looking at ways in which you can still hold on to the essence of what’s made you as good as you’ve been and see how you evolve that to get to achieve what you need to achieve.

“Ultimately, as drivers, you should be able to drive anything, and I think we can.

“In certain situations, some drivers are able to deal with things better than others and it takes some people a short time, others longer, to adapt. But I wouldn’t say it’s a disaster.”