Lewis Hamilton & Mercedes Have Another Card up Its Sleeves To Tackle Max Verstappen in the Desert: “Hope That It Works Better”

Despite sky-high expectations, the Mercedes AMG F1 team failed to make a mark in Bahrain so far. Being the fourth-best team, the Silver Arrows drivers George Russell and Lewis Hamilton finished the qualifying session in P6 and P7, respectively. As competing with pole-sitter Max Verstappen seems to be a distant dream now, the Mercedes driver, however, has a Plan B for the desert.

During the post-qualifying session, the Briton opened up on Mercedes’ expectations and tactics. The seven-time world champion told to Lawrence Barretto of F1, “We knew we’ll be behind somewhere. So, it could have been any number.”

Furthermore, the Silver Arrows ace went on to reveal a different game plan ahead of Sunday’s race. Talking about this, Hamilton went on, “Car felt okay, nothing major. I’ve set it [the car] up for the race, so I hope that it works better in the race.”

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Lewis Hamilton and George Russell to start the 2023 Bahrain Grand Prix with a changed plan behind the Red Bull duo of Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez, the Ferrari duo of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz, and Fernando Alonso of Aston Martin.

Lewis Hamilton left surprised by the sudden Mercedes change

As per expectations, Mercedes were believed to be close to Ferrari when it comes to pace. However, the Silver Arrows were not only slower than the Prancing Horse, but also an Aston Martin. As the Mercedes duo starts from the third and fourth row respectively, Lewis Hamilton was left stunned by the sudden downgrade development.

As per Sky Sports, Hamilton shared after the qualification, “We made a step forward today and the car was feeling much more alive this morning.” He then went on, “and all of a sudden we were in a different place to where we were the day before. But then we got to qualifying and for me, the car just didn’t feel alive, it felt kind of average.”

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As Lewis Hamilton is all set to start his 17th F1 season, it is highly unlikely that he will be a title contender this year. Leaving aside fighting with Max Verstappen and mighty Red Bull, the Mercedes star is expected to face fierce competition from Perez, Leclerc, Sainz, Alonso, and his teammate Russell.