F1 legend chides Hamilton for making 'excuses' in teammate battle

Lewis Hamilton has been told to stop making excuses after a disappointing finish at the Chinese Grand Prix.

Seven-time champion Hamilton had perhaps raised expectations after coming second in sprint qualifying but the weekend unravelled for him and he ultimately finished ninth, nearly a minute off Max Verstappen's race-setting time.

READ MORE: Hamilton teases Mercedes 'step forward' in Miami after poor Chinese GP showing

Hamilton had found himself stuck behind Esteban Ocon in p14 - something he bemoaned over team radio, saying "I can't even catch him, mate. This car is so slow.

"The car is just sliding around everywhere. I don't know, it just feels like something is broken. It's probably just the balance, it's really bad."

Hamilton will head to Ferrari next season, the hope for driver and team that they can help each other restore former glories, but former Jordan and Jaguar F1 technical director Gary Anderson think Hamilton is deflecting.

Hamilton's reality check

The Englishman "has yet to beat [Mercedes teammate] George Russell in a race this season," Anderson pointed out in his Telegraph column, before continuing his reality check.

"Hamilton still seems to be searching for that magic bullet that will suddenly see him leap to the front. Well, in all my years in motorsport I have never seen that happen.

"Mercedes have had a fundamental problem with their car since the start of 2022 and no amount of set-up changes will fix it. It should always be about optimising what you have at your disposal, if you can do this it gives you a baseline to work from.

"The excuses must stop at some point."

It is nearly 50 races since new F1 regulations came into play, and Mercedes still seem to be experimenting - which is galling in itself.

But for Russell to now be 14 points in front of his illustrious rival in the drivers' standings suggest that Anderson is right - Hamilton must work with what he has until he leaves.

And all eyes will be on Ferrari next year to see if he can turn it around.

READ MORE: Hamilton goes full Sebastian Vettel with Red Bull 'inspection'

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