F1 Insider Predicts "Civil War" In Mercedes As Lewis Hamilton Struggles Continue
An F1 insider predicts a Mercedes "civil war" as their drivers Lewis Hamilton and George Russell struggle at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
Well folks, it looks like the Silver Arrows are in a bit of a pickle. After a lackluster performance last season, Mercedes was expected to come roaring back with a car that could give the competition a run for their money. But alas, it seems like the team has hit a bit of a rough patch, and Lewis Hamilton and Toto Wolff are taking it quite badly.
The W13 struggled with major porpoising issues and a general lack of performance in 2022, and while this has been mostly fixed for 2023, the W14 is still lacking balance.
To add insult to injury, Lewis Hamilton has claimed that the team did not listen to his advice last season. And now with team principal Wolff admitting that they made a mistake with their design, the mood in the Mercedes camp is tense, to say the least.
F1 journalist Peter Windsor has even gone so far as to predict a "civil war" within the team.
“You do wonder how much these kind of snappy comments in the press are related to what the engineers are doing,” he told his YouTube channel.
“James Allison and everyone else back at Brackley trying to decide what to do to get this car to be competitive.
“And you have to guess, given their success over the past decade, that they know how to do that. So there’s almost like a civil war going on.”
And if that wasn't enough, Lewis Hamilton's contract situation is still up in the air. The seven-time world champion has yet to sign on the dotted line, and rumors are swirling that he could make a move to Ferrari next season if Mercedes can't deliver him a title-winning car. Wolff himself has even added that if Mercedes isn't able to produce a car fast enough for him, he should look at every option.
Mercedes is certainly struggling but F1 is a volatile sport, and with us only one Grand Prix down, things could change yet.