Lewis Hamilton reveals that their “tacky driving” in the ongoing Bahrain test isn’t their strategy to hide their car’s potential. According to the 7-time world champion, the German constructors are having trouble with the new car.

The Silver Arrows were impressive in the Barcelona pre-season testing, with Hamilton setting the fastest lap and George Russell finishing next to on the timesheets. However, the same is not happening in Bahrain.

Hamilton and Russell are having hard times with the W13 in the Bahrain heat. At the end of day 2, Hamilton finished fifth whereas Russell finished 13th. Many fans are speculating that the poor performance is Mercedes’ approach to hide their true strengths ahead of the first race.

However, the Briton recently revealed that it is not the case, and they are struggling and trying out new changes to improve W13. Hamilton reported to Autosport, “We would be really, really, really good if we were having all these oversteer moments and having this tacky driving, just to hide our cars [pace].”

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“It’s not the case. We definitely have things that we’re trying to get through,” Hamilton further said. “I think, as I said, others are struggling less but who knows? Maybe when we get to next week, we’ll have a better understanding.”

Lewis Hamilton believes Ferrari to win the first race

The Silver Arrows aren’t having a good time in Bahrain. Lewis only managed to finish fifth, compared to his first-place finish in Barcelona testing.

Meanwhile, AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly was the fastest on Day 1, followed by both the Ferrari drivers. On day 2, Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz again took the top spot before being bested by Kevin Magnussen during Haas’ extra time on the track.

At the end of day 2 running, journalists asked Hamilton about who would win the 2022 season opener. To this, the Brit reported to SkySports, “I think from what I can see, they would get a one-two… or maybe Red Bull.”

However, the Ferrari man Sainz rejects those claims. He believes the German constructor will repeat the history; by failing at testing and then surprising everyone in the first race with their incredible pace. The Ferrari driver says, “As you can imagine I don’t believe much… we can see what they are doing [on track] and I’m not going to say much.”

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More F1 drama will come as the season continues while Hamilton tries to lift his record eighth World Championship. It’s hard to take the eyes off from this motorsport when the 2022 season is only a few days away.