F1 News: Mercedes Chief Reveals Real Reason Why Lewis Hamilton Is Struggling With His W15 Car

Saajan Jogia | Dec 1, 2024

Nov 23, 2024; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Scuderia Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc (16) leads Mercedes AMG Petronas driver Lewis Hamilton (44) during the Las Vegas Grand Prix at Las Vegas Circuit. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images / Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has revealed the real reason behind Lewis Hamilton's struggles with the W15 F1 car, stating that the nature of the ground effect cars in general does not suit the seven-time world champion's driving style.

Hamilton's struggles began in 2022, which marked the inception of the ground effect era in Formula 1. Mercedes was one of the teams that struggled most that year with its car, with porpoising being a big issue that was even observed on certain occasions this season.

The seven-time world champion ended his ground-effect dry spell this year by securing his first victory of the season at his home race in Silverstone, which followed another victory at Spa. However, his complaints about the car not being up to the mark have been constant because of its unpredictable performance.

A lack of pace and grip are common remarks made by Hamilton on most race weekends, which went up to the point of him admitting that he just isn't fast enough, especially since his teammate George Russell has been churning out better-qualifying results and even race results in some instances, and leads him by 9 points in the Drivers' Standings in the sixth place.

The contrast in performance seemed to affect Hamilton, especially after he appeared dejected following the Qatar Grand Prix Sprint qualifying, where he secured P7, while Russell managed to lock the second spot. Speaking to the media in Qatar, he said ahead of the Sprint race:

"I'm just slow, same every weekend.

"Car felt relatively decent, no issues, not really much more to say."

He added:

"The long run didn't feel too bad. But when you're always back where I am, it makes it very hard to be competing for... almost impossible, pretty much, to be competing for wins."

When told that he could not be the problem, he replied:

"Who knows, I'm definitely not fast anymore."

However, team boss Wolff isn't willing to go with the theory that Hamilton has slowed down. Considering the data he has access to and his knowledge of the 39-year-old's driving style given their association of 12 seasons, Wolff said it was all down to the nature of the current cars, which conflicts with Hamilton's driving style under braking. He explained to F1TV, as quoted by PlanetF1:

“I’m certain that it’s not true.

“It’s just this generation of cars, particularly how the car is now. It’s just something that he likes, he’s a late braker, he carries a lot of speed on the entry to the corner and the car doesn’t take it. You can see him inking out, taking more and more time intellectually, and trying to find more performance.

“We need to give him a car that’s to his liking. He’s very team-oriented, doesn’t say anything, but he’s not happy with the car.”