Lewis Hamilton Left Deflated With ‘Tricky Car’ as Mercedes’ Quest for Pace Continues at Australian GP

Apr 8, 2022 | 6:28 AM EDT

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The race weekend is back as Formula One returns to Australia after a two-year break. The 2020 and 2021 races scheduled in the country did not go ahead because of the Covid-19 pandemic. At the end of Friday’s Free Practice 1 and 2, Ferrari and Red Bull have once again dominated the grid. Charles Leclerc came out on top in FP2 while his teammate Carlos Sainz finished P1 in the first practice session.

Meanwhile, Mercedes came to Australia with optimism amid proposed upgrades to the car. However, Friday’s session turned out to be disappointing for them. Lewis Hamilton finished P13 while his teammate George Russell finished P11 in FP2. Hamilton looked visibly frustrated when he gave his thoughts on the session.

Lewis Hamilton is discontent with the W13’s performance

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Mercedes came into the Australian Grand Prix with an aim of improving the pace of W13. Rumors suggested Mercedes would run a new rear wing and floor in the W13 ahead of this week’s race. However, it did not feature in the practice sessions as issues continued for the Silver Arrows and Friday proved to be disappointing.

Speaking on the problems, Hamilton did not seem upbeat. He said, “It was a difficult session,” as the Silver Arrows fail to make an impact and put a marker down on the first day of the race weekend.

The Seven-time World Champion expressed his frustration and felt the changes were not positive. He added, “Nothing you change on the car makes a difference at the moment. So, that’s the difficult thing. You know, you get in very optimistic, and you make changes, and then it doesn’t seem to be wanting to improve.”

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“We made some changes going into P2; P1 was better and P2 ended up being a bit harder for me. I don’t know, it’s just a tricky car,” explained Hamilton.

The 37-year-old finished P7 in FP1, but FP2 proved to be a harder session for him. Hamilton ended up in P13 as he was 1.543 seconds behind the leader, Charles Leclerc. His teammate, George Russell, also struggled as he ended up in P11 behind Daniel Ricciardo’s McLaren.

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Meanwhile, Red Bull and Ferrari continued to stretch their dominance on the track. Leclerc finished P1, followed by Max Verstappen in FP2. It will hurt Mercedes after their struggles in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, without a doubt. Can the Silver Arrows bounce back in Australia comes Sunday? Leave your thoughts in the comments.