Lewis Hamilton struggles explained as Toto Wolff slammed for letting down Mercedes ace.
Lewis Hamilton has endured a challenging start to his final season as a Mercedes driver, although this isn't entirely down to his own performances.
06:30, Sat, Apr 13, 2024
By Harry Smith
Daily and Sunday Express

Lewis Hamilton is not at fault for his worrying start to the 2024 campaign, according to F1 analyst Mark Gallagher. Instead, he believes that Mercedes have failed the seven-time world champion by producing an unpredictable car that, combined with its two predecessors, has drained the Brit’s confidence.

Following two difficult seasons to kick off the ground effect era in 2022 and 2023, the current campaign has brought about Hamilton’s worst-ever start to a year. The 39-year-old has only finished higher than P9 on one occasion and has so far out-qualified team-mate George Russell just once.

This was acknowledged by Hamilton himself, who proclaimed it to be ‘even worse than 2009’ after he suffered a mechanical DNF at the Australian Grand Prix. Team principal Toto Wolff must now find his replacement without the promise of a predictable, consistently fast challenger to put underneath them.

‘Not at fault’;

https://www.express.co.uk/sport/f1-a...Wolff-Mercedes


Lewis Hamilton makes fresh Ferrari declaration as Mercedes struggles continue
09 Apr 2024 6:00 AM
Oliver Harden
PlanetF1.com

Lewis Hamilton has admitted he is unsure if Mercedes will allow him to start work with Ferrari before the F1 2025 season, insisting all his energy is focused on helping his current team “get back to the top.”

With his move to Ferrari confirmed so early in the year, Hamilton faces the unusual prospect of having to spend the entire 2024 season at Mercedes in the knowledge that team and driver will soon part ways.

Speaking to media including PlanetF1.com’s Thomas Maher the morning after Hamilton’s bombshell, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff admitted 2024 could present some “challenging situations” as the team aim to prevent Hamilton taking intimate secrets to his new employers.

“Challenging situations”;

https://www.planetf1.com/news/lewis-...rrari-mercedes


Mercedes desperate amid performance catastrophe
10:32 Wed, 10 Apr 2024.
GrandPrix.com

Seven time world champion Hamilton - now regularly struggling to keep up with George Russell at Mercedes - is clearly already putting his mind into red overalls. He said in Japan that he will soon kick off an awkward conversation with Toto Wolff about when he can start his transition to Ferrari later this year.

“Clearly Lewis is already focused on 2025, which shows a lack of confidence in his current team”, former F1 driver Ralf Schumacher told Sky Deutschland. “The fact that he's already mentally in a different place clearly poses a serious problem.”

F1 driver Christian Danner, speaking to the Austrian broadcaster Servus TV explains: "If I have a not-so-fast car, I might do a nonsense tactic that could work if you're really lucky. So you see how desolate it is for them at the moment. It's obviously a catastrophe that we're witnessing”, said Danner. “Not just from Hamilton's point of view, where he's driving himself crazy and not getting anywhere, but also the whole team.”

‘Mercedes desperate’;

https://www.grandprix.com/news/merce...tastrophe.html


EXCLUSIVE: Lewis Hamilton giving Mercedes "a hard time" as F1 team slammed over poor form
Lewis Hamilton leaves Mercedes for Ferrari at the end of this F1 season, but the idea of a triumphant exit has already long gone with the Silver Arrows struggling to perform
13th April 2024, 06:05
By Daniel Moxon Senior F1 Writer
The Mirror

Given the situation, former Formula 1 executive Mark Gallagher thinks it's only natural that Hamilton will be frustrated with the team. "Lewis is what he is and that is a highly experienced seven-time champion who exists to win," he told Mirror Sport, via Betway. "He doesn't exist to qualify in the third row or the fourth row and get a podium maybe if things go well.”

“He's there for winning and he is going to give himself a hard time if things aren't going well but he will also give the team a hard time. That's what you expect of the great drivers in a way." Hamilton's best result from the four races held so far was seventh in the Bahrain season-opener. Since then, he has finished ninth twice and failed to finish the Australian Grand Prix thanks to an engine failure.

Gallagher, who served on the board at Jordan Grand Prix and later worked for Jaguar and Red Bull Racing, thinks Hamilton's own performances have been "a little bit below par". But he insists it would be unfair to criticise the seven-time F1 champion for that given Mercedes' failure to provide him with the tools he needs to win.

“Experienced seven-time champion who exists to win”;

https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/formu...icism-32564416


Lewis Hamilton reacts to major F1 2025 calendar news with first Ferrari race venue confirmed
12 Apr 2024 4:30 PM
Henry Valantine

The 2025 calendar was announced with a run of five races in six weeks to start the season, but Hamilton’s first race for Ferrari will take place at Albert Park in Melbourne, the scene of many a curtain-raiser in years gone by – and the seven-time World Champion is pleased to see that be the case again next year.

“I love this track, this race,” Hamilton recently told media in Melbourne. “I think it was always the best first race of the season, so it’s exciting to hear that this is the first one next year – it just takes me back to when I first started.”

“I love this track, this race”;

https://www.planetf1.com/news/lewis-...endar-reaction


Rumours swirl in Italy that Mercedes have chosen Lewis Hamilton replacement
Mercedes have reportedly decided which driver will replace Lewis Hamilton for the 2025 F1 season
12 Apr 2024
Connor McDonagh
Crash.Net

Carlos Sainz has been chosen by Mercedes as Lewis Hamilton’s replacement for the 2025 F1 season, according to Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport. The publication from Ferrari's homeland insist that Sainz will join Mercedes on a two-year deal, teaming up with George Russell.

Sainz is a safe bet for Mercedes having enjoyed a strong start to the 2024 F1 season, finishing on the podium in all three races - winning in Australia. If the report is to be believed, Sainz has been handed a two-year Mercedes deal.

Sainz’s arrival at Mercedes will have a knock-on effect for the rest of the grid, particularly their protege, Andrea Kimi Antonelli. The same report details that Red Bull are likely to retain Sergio Perez after his strong start to the year.

‘Rumours swirl’;

https://www.crash.net/f1/news/104671...on-replacement