F1 News: Lewis Hamilton in BLEAK interview after Bahrain disaster

Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, Bahrain, 2024 — Photo: © IMAGO

Bahrain Grand Prix

Hamilton in BLEAK interview after Bahrain disaster

The seven-time world champion struggled in Bahrain

Originally written by Sam Cook. This version is a translation.

Sunday 3 March 2024 17:57

Lewis Hamilton has admitted it was hard to find positives from the first race of the Formula 1 season in a telling interview post-race.

The Mercedes man finished the Bahrain Grand Prix seventh, an improvement on his ninth-place grid slot but still comfortably behind where he'd hoped to be.

His team-mate George Russell finished a couple of spots higher in fifth, but would have liked to be in more of a challenge for a podium finish.

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Hamilton has not managed to win a race since the 2021 Saudi Arabian GP, and is looking to return his Mercedes team back to winning ways in 2024, before departing for pastures new ahead of 2025.

On the evidence of the season-opening Bahrain GP, it's unlikely that Mercedes will be able to challenge the supreme Max Verstappen and Red Bull in 2024, but it's due to be a very long season.

Lewis Hamilton had been optimistic about his chances in the race, despite a poor qualifying

Max Verstappen claimed victory in the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix

Hamilton's nightmare start to 2024

He thinks that the reliability of his W15 is something to be positive about after a tough weekend.

"I personally feel great, physically I feel great so winter training has worked," he revealed.

"We probably feel a bit of disappointment within the team, I'm not sure about everyone else. I was definitely hoping that we would be better this weekend than we were, but it was a tough race, it was very close with everybody and degradation is high with the car.

"There is plenty of areas we can improve. We were further back from the Red Bulls than we thought as well."

Asked what positives he would take from the race, he paused - at a loss for anything to hang his hopes on - before reluctantly saying: "I mean, the car is reliable.

"But I think it was a struggle in the car today. The platform, where I was given everything, but there wasn't a lot of performance there compared to some of the others.

"I think if I would have qualified better, I would be a good couple of places ahead because the last stint was good. It was about discovery today, I found out a lot of things about the car to improve and I'm sure the team will."

Red Bull Max Verstappen Lewis Hamilton Mercedes Formula 1 Bahrain Grand Prix