Lewis Hamilton admits “big, big talks” with Mercedes amid growing F1 frustrations
Lewis Hamilton has endured one of the most disappointing spells of his F1 career with Mercedes, failing to win and his team failing to compete.
Lewis Hamilton had “big, big talks” with Mercedes earlier this year as the team struggled to find ways to improve their woeful cars.
Mercedes started the season with the W14, which was very similar to its predecessor. The team stuck to the “zero” concept and was confident that the speed would deliver its potential.
But there was a race that would reject them. After the Bahrain Grand Prix, team principal Toto Wolff admitted that big changes are needed if his team is to make something out of the season.
Hamilton says he already knew things weren’t going to be good. “I remember feeling the same way,” he told the BBC, referring to his impressions of the W14 after February’s Silverstone shakedown session.
“It was definitely not a good feeling. I had really high expectations… When I posted where the car was going in February, I was a little worried that no one would say it last year because “the car is great, it’s special”. ‘And this.’ “And then there was the first test … So as I was listening, I was a little wary, so I thought, ‘Let’s have a look.’ Then the car started having all these problems. I knew this was going to be a long year.”
A few weeks later, at his first race in Bahrain, his worst fears came true. After that weekend, he took aim at the Mercedes team, accusing them of not listening to his views on the car – a belief that has now doubled.
“I’m sure there was some frustration because we asked for some changes and they weren’t ready yet,” Hamilton said, citing “big, big conversations” with the team. No one knew what the problem was and no one knew how to fix it.
“Based on my experience last year, I decided to stick with these guys. I had a much better date. He helped me stay a lot more positive throughout the year by saying, “It’s going to be a long season, but let’s not give up.” Whatever happens, let’s try to get the most out of the car.
“I think this year they thought, ‘The fundamentals are good and we should get here.’ And it wasn’t like that. So I was disappointed when they didn’t make the changes I asked for in February. But at the beginning of the year, we knew exactly what we were working for, so it wasn’t necessarily a north star. It was a zig zag line to get where we needed to be. Sometimes good things happen. “Okay, that’s it,” you say. And then it changes, so the goalposts are always moving, and that’s normal.”
