Lewis Hamilton’s “Motivation to Excel” at Mercedes Questioned as Ex-Ferrari Boss Explains Qualifying Struggles

In 2007, Lewis Hamilton debuted in Formula 1 when he was only 22. Only one year into his career in motorsports, he won the World Championship for McLaren. It was right then that all the onlookers knew they were witnessing the rise of a future legend. Now, Lewis is 39, with 7 World Championships to his name, and he still shows no signs of slowing down. In fact, Hamilton shut out all those who called for his retirement and took up a new job at Ferrari, starting next year.

Given Lewis Hamilton’s massive experience, one always expects him to stay at the top during races. However, that has not been happening lately. While he did get the P4 positions at the Canadian GP, Hamilton’s Qualifying in Montreal went horribly. Considering the Briton’s standards, getting himself a top-5 start to the race should not have been difficult. But he could not do that and instead, got a P7 start. And that is not all, Lewis even failed to get into the top 5 at all of the Grands Prix that have been held in 2024 till now.

During the Bahrain season opener, Lewis Hamilton barely made it into Q3 and he started ninth on the grid. And in Australia, he failed to get out of Q2. His worst Qualifying result till now in 2024 came in China as he got a P18 start. Speaking of this poor Quali record, former Ferrari manager Peter Windsor mentioned a lack of motivation on Lewis Hamilton’s part. So, what verdict did Windsor pass while comparing the seasoned racer with his much younger teammate, George Russell?

Peter Windsor unsure if Lewis Hamilton wants to go the extra mile anymore

During his recent exchange on the Cameron F1 channel, Peter Windsor explained why George Russell has done better at Qualifying, compared to his seven-time F1 title-holder teammate. Considering Hamiton’s trajectory in the first 9 races this year, he said, “[George Russell] is a young, extremely fast racing driver with nothing to lose except beating Lewis Hamilton. What’s Lewis’ motivation if he’s getting in the car and it feels slightly different to FP3? Suddenly, he’s got a flick oversteer that he didn’t have before. He gets on the radio, he doesn’t just drive through it like George will. That’s the difference.”

Thus, Windsor believes George Russell can toe the line where Lewis Hamilton cannot. By the car feeling slightly different from FP3, Windsor meant to point out Hamilton’s failure in adjusting to different car conditions. If the Briton drove the W15 during the third Free Practice session right ahead of Qualifying, he expects the feel of the car to remain the same during Quali.

However, if that did not happen, Peter Windsor noted how Lewis Hamilton didn’t work through the problem, like his young teammate. Instead, he was spotted complaining about it on the team radio. Speaking on Lewis Hamilton’s current performance, Windsor has also mentioned that he is doing a good job currently. Moreover, Peter emphasized that it is nonsensical to criticize him for not getting the third position at the Canadian GP.

Peter Windsor believes Mercedes is not doing any favors for Lewis Hamilton

At the recently-held Canadian GP, Lewis Hamilton and his teammate George Russell got into a fight during the final laps for the third position. While Hamilton had to yield to Russell in the end, the move has gathered a lot of criticism against Mercedes. This has come from onlookers, who believe the team is not helping Lewis Hamilton. When asked if Mercedes should have asked George to hold position and let Lewis pass, Windsor said, “Why would they do that? George’s tires were different and he was going quicker [than Lewis] and had a chance to catch the McLaren.”

By “the McLaren”, Windsor was referring to Lando Norris, who was spotted ahead of George Russell in Canada. Now, with nine races down, Lewis Hamilton is nearing the middle of his last season with Mercedes. Thus, it can be said that the Briton wants to end his fifteen-year-long run with the Stuttgart outfit with some good points. And he did achieve that by scoring a fourth-place finish at the Canadian GP.

But still, Lewis Hamilton is grossly surpassed by George Russell on the Championship table at present, as the seven-time World Champion is 12 points behind his teammate. Do you believe Mercedes led to Russell scoring a podium in the Canadian GP? Did the team give more preference to Russell and ignore Lewis Hamilton since this is his last season with them? Share your thoughts in the comments below.