Formula 1 is as much about pace and performance as it is about the mind games. In a cutthroat sport like F1, getting even a semblance of an advantage over one’s rivals is very crucial. On the flip side, for a team like Mercedes, which is charting its way back to the top, the last thing they need is the prying eyes of its competitors. Their star driver, 7x champion Lewis Hamilton, is cut from the same cloth. In the past, we’ve seen him bluffing his way into the minds of his rivals.

Mercedes’ out-and-out performance hasn’t been up to its lofty standards ever since 2022. However, it hasn’t been disastrous either. But if you were to listen to Hamilton over the course of the last month and a half, you’d imagine him talking as though Mercedes has fallen to the bottom of the championship grid. Hence, the question beckons; how far back have the Silver Arrows actually fallen?

Lewis Hamilton gets called out on his bluff

The team has been very forthcoming about their missteps. That being said, the hue and cry being made about the team’s actual pace and situation has been misrepresented for some. This comes straight from ex-Ferrari man Ernest Knoors himself.

Motorsport.com quoted him as saying, “I think that’s why Hamilton also said: ‘We are in crisis.’ I always thought that was a bit exaggerated. He said that after Bahrain and yes, Bahrain was bad… but in Saudi Arabia and especially in this race you saw that the Mercedes is not yet at the level of Red Bull, but it is good.” [translated via Google Translate]

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Mercedes showed a big step up in terms of pace last weekend in Melbourne. And even though the Silver Arrows’ pace isn’t right up there with Red Bull, Hamilton has sworn that he will not go down without a fight.

Hamilton swears to bring Mercedes back to winning ways

Many have speculated that the 38-year-old is eager to cut ties with the Brackley-based team. Given the struggles the team has had, this isn’t a very unreasonable thing to think about. However, for Hamilton, the aim is to win that elusive 8th title, and it has to be with Mercedes.

He told Formula1.com, “I’m a fighter and we fight as a team. I love the challenge of finding solutions and I still believe I’m able to put the car in places that perhaps others are not able to – and I love that challenge.”

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Can Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes close the gap to Max Verstappen and Red Bull in 2023?