Lewis Hamilton Criticises Mercedes Strategy As F1 Season Heats Up
Seven-time F1 champion Lewis Hamilton expressed his lack of surprise over Mercedes' struggle with tyre degradation during the first race of the 2023 F1 season, having warned the team of the issue before the race began.
The British driver had a difficult start to the season, finishing in fifth place, his worst start to a season since 2014. With Charles Leclerc's retirement in the Ferrari SF-23, a podium finish was potentially within reach, but Hamilton lost out to Fernando Alonso in the Aston Martin and was unable to overtake Carlos Sainz.
The Brackley-based squad struggled with race pace, specifically with the rear tyres, an area in which Red Bull and Aston Martin seemed to have excelled. Hamilton explained that he had raised concerns about Mercedes' strategy regarding the tyre life, given their issues with degradation.
Speaking to the media, Hamilton explained:
“It generally felt the same as last year. When we did the strategy in the morning I told the guys it wasn’t going to go as far as they said it was going to go, and it didn’t.
“We have just got a lot of work to do. We have just got to add downforce to the car, we’re lacking a lot of downforce. That is really where the time will come. As soon as we put more load on the rear and the front we’ll pick up that pace.
“We were miles away. There was a Ferrari that would’ve been ahead of him [Alonso], so we would’ve really been sixth. So a podium was nowhere near."
Hamilton continued referring to Aston Martin, who have a Mercedes engine:
“We’ve got work to do, because half of their car [Aston Martin] is ours, and they built their car in our wind tunnel, they do their aero in our wind tunnel, so we’ve got some work to do. Concerned wouldn’t be the word. There is nothing I can say, I don’t want to say too much. We’ve just got to keep working.
“We know we are not where we need to be, and we know that this isn’t the right car. It is a difficult one.
“But I’ve just got to try and stay positive, keep my head up and keep pushing the guys. Keep trying to be a positive light for them and get the best points I can.”