Lewis Hamilton’s Struggles Decoded as Mercedes Slammed for Making a Horrible Mercedes W14: “A Car That Is Not So..”

Formula 1, for Lewis Hamilton, has changed since 2021. The man who once was running these streets with Mercedes now doesn’t even have a win to show for himself in these past two years. The 2023 Formula 1 season got off to an even bitter start for the 7x champion. But while people have been speculating about the Brit’s time in this sport, and many fingers are being pointed at him as a finished man, the real problems of Hamilton’s failed bid to win that elusive 8th title have been revealed.

During the Miami GP weekend, the Brit struggled again. Once again, he lost out to his teammate, George Russell. That being said, it isn’t as though Russell has been fighting for wins while Hamilton languishes far behind. At the very core of it, the Silver Arrows have dropped the ball. And the lack of results isn’t really the fault of their drivers.

The troubled W14 exposed

The sheer driving talent of Hamilton isn’t in question. Then what is holding back the 7x champion? Well, for starters, it is no secret that Mercedes have not been able to deliver a car worthy for wins. But in doing so, they’ve built a car that has actually made the lives of their drivers worse.

During a recent episode of the Lift the Lid podcast, Johnny Herbert explained, “The actual car itself, when it was going through that sort of slow little section onto the sort of the back straight; it just looked horrible. It looked so hard. It didn’t have any forgiveness there at all,” while referring to the undulating chicane in the second sector of the Miami International Autodrome.

“It’s just…All it wants to do is bite you. It’s just ready to snap at your heels the whole time. So, you’ve got, rightly so, what you said; the straight-line speed problem. They also have a car that is not so driver-friendly,” concluded the ex-Benetton driver.

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The W14 aside, Hamilton is still being outclassed by his teammate Russell. Does the 38-year-old have anywhere to hide?

Lewis Hamilton will teach Russell a lesson

At the end of the day, both the Mercedes drivers are being strapped into equal machinery at ever race weekend. But the reason that Hamilton is currently struggling to match Russell’s pace is actually deeply embedded in the storied success he’s had in the past.

According to David Coulthard, “This is the best car that George has ever driven, remember he was at Williams, this is not the best car that Lewis has ever driven. His mind is in a different place, the car isn’t talking to him, playing to his strengths and you can see he is fighting it out there, it’s just not stable,” as quoted by PlanetF1.com

“George is doing a brilliant job, [he is an] absolute asset for the team. That’s not to say Lewis isn’t doing a brilliant job, it just means that the car isn’t talking to him right now and when it does, expect him to be showing George why he won seven World Championships,” concluded the Brit.

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Will Lewis Hamilton ever get the better of George Russell?