Lewis Hamilton: ‘Feeling miserable’ not being ‘connected’ to car as struggle continues in Saudi Arabia

Lewis Hamilton claimed he would not leave Mercedes despite his recent struggles, finishing eighth in qualifying in Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia GP live on Sunday at 3:30pm on Sky Sports F1

Lewis Hamilton has admitted he feels ‘miserable’ not being ‘connected’ to his car as he continues to struggle with pace in his Mercedes in Saudi Arabia.

Hamilton qualified eighth, but was forced to start seventh after Charles Leclerc’s 10-place grid penalty. He was more than half a second ahead of team-mate George Russell in Q3. The third.

Hamilton has complained about the team’s car concept since last season, and after a difficult day finds it “difficult” despite giving “everything” for the team. I admit that there are

“I feel like I struggled with the car, especially at high speeds,” said Hamilton.

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Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff and driver George Russell look back on qualifying and a third-place start.

“But I don’t feel that the car is under me. I don’t feel connected to this car, I don’t understand it.”

“I really don’t know what I’m going to do about it.

“Misery. Tough. I give absolutely everything.

“I’m here as late as possible every day, as prepared as I can be, but I can’t get in my car and connect with it.

“I really don’t know what to say about it.

“It’s good that George did a good run today. It’s great. I hope he can score some good points for the team. Tomorrow we’ll try to recover. Today is a new day.”

“I give it my all.”

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Red Bull’s Sergio Perez secured pole position for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix while team-mate Max Verstappen was forced into an early exit due to engine problems.

He later explained that his car setup was a little different than teammate Russell’s, suggesting that he was as much responsible for himself as the team.

“George can put the car in a different place than I do. I just struggled to get performance out of the car,” he added.

“It’s mostly me. At high speeds the car setup is a little bit unstable.

“It’s a little different [to George]There’s only one specific thing I would do differently, but maybe tomorrow I’ll be fine.

“The car is as it is. George did a great job. He’s right up there on the second row, so the car is clearly performing.”

“I don’t feel connected to this car. No matter what I do, no matter what I change, I don’t feel confident. I’m a little lost.”

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff admitted earlier this week that Hamilton “needs to consider” joining another team in the future if Mercedes doesn’t offer him a winning car.

However, the seven-time world champion has not considered moving elsewhere, claiming he “loves” his team.

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Mercedes team principal and team CEO Toto Wolff says he believes Lewis Hamilton will stay at Mercedes despite the team’s recent struggles.

“I’m not focused on that. I love this team and am so grateful to everyone who has traveled with me on this team. I can’t imagine being anywhere else.” Hmm,” said Hamilton.

“I don’t think I’m quitting. I don’t feel like I’m quitting, but I can’t say it gives me much. I went there and did it and T I have purchased shirts many times.

“But I’m patient and I’m trying to work with the team to get to a good place. That’s all I can say for now. I’m not going anywhere else.”

Brandle: Merc isn’t in ‘crisis’, but there’s a lot to do

Sky Sports F1’s Martin Brundle believes Mercedes is not in a ‘crisis’ yet but needs to make major changes to see improvements on track.

“I don’t think this is a crisis. I think that’s too strong a word, but they have a lot of work to do,” Brundle said.

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Sky F1’s Rachel Brooks has sat down with Mercedes boss Toto Wolff to discuss the challenges facing the team this season and Lewis Hamilton’s future.

“They will have to change the car. I think the first big step will be in that grand prix at Imola. After that we will have some sidepods and I think there will be quite a lot of changes.”

“I thought they sorted it out over the winter, but they didn’t. If anything, it’s even later than last year.”

Former Mercedes driver and Sky Sports F1’s Nico Rosberg also thinks his former team is in a ‘difficult situation’, but in the long run Hamilton remains ‘very ambitious’. wax.

“It’s a very difficult situation for them. They are very used to success. [and are now] We’ve been having trouble for a long time, we haven’t made any progress and we’re actually struggling more,” Rosberg said.

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Former F1 world champion Nico Rosberg claims former Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton is still “very motivated” despite the team’s current problems.

“The talent there is still second to none. It’s a very difficult thing to say if there is a problem and we need to move some people. It’s really hard.”

“that too [Wolff] Everyone is starting to realize that they won’t be winning races anytime soon, so they have to play a big part in keeping everyone motivated.

“This is also where the drivers come in. I think you can always see Lewis on the radio picking up the teams and pushing them. It was great to see that. George. [Russell] certainly do the same.

“From what I see, Lewis is still very ambitious. Russell is on his shoulders and he really wants to beat him, so that’s a big driver.”

“In the evening in Bahrain, in the Mercedes engineering room, Lewis and George were in front of the computer and they were pushing really hard.

Formula 1 street racing is back! Watch the Saudi Grand Prix live this weekend on Sky Sports F1. Sunday’s race starts at 5pm and builds up at 3:30pm. get sky sports