“The worst start to the season” for Lewis Hamilton

The results follow one another and the media releases are similar for Lewis Hamilton. The Briton is having a nightmare start to his last season with his long-time team. It's even “the worst start to the season” that he faced during his career, even worse than 2009, according to him. The seven-time world champion is floundering, cannot find the solution and naturally, morale takes a hit. A final ordeal year for Hamilton before joining the Scuderia Ferrari where the weather seems brighter.

Already in Bahrain and Jeddah, Sir Lewis was not in the game, unable to hang on to the group in front who are fighting for the podium. And his qualifying results don't help him either: 9th place at the first meeting of the season then 8th at the second. The W15 is incomprehensible, it has a rear end that is far too unstable, particularly in fast corners where downforce is almost non-existent. A real ordeal to pilot…

In addition to this, the car shows early warning signs in terms of reliability. In Australia, Lewis Hamilton had to retire on the 17th lap following a mechanical problem. The straw that broke the camel's back. “I think it’s hard on morale, for everyone. Laments the number 44. When so much work has been done throughout the winter, when you arrive excited, motivated, with the right state of mind, when you think you are fighting for victories, and that is not the case..."

“Everything fell apart.” 😳

It's Lewis Hamilton's turn to retire on the 17th lap of the race after an engine problem ❌#AusGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/KB9gmDY2OF

— CANAL+ F1® (@CanalplusF1) March 24, 2024

Lewis puts things into perspective

Despite this absolutely catastrophic start to the season for the Silver Arrows, Lewis Hamilton prefers to put things into perspective and see the bright side of things. « Surprisingly, I feel pretty good. It could be much worse. I'm really grateful to be here, I really enjoyed my time here in Australia. I always enjoy working with the team. We will bounce back, we will eventually get there,” enthuses the pilot Mercedes.

Even if pessimism is more than palpable around the W15 and its potential, the crisis at Mercedes seems deeper, organizational. When we see the behavior of Lewis Hamilton since the start of the season, trying to embellish a much sadder reality, we would not wonder if he is not a follower of a Coué method of his own, between spicy declarations and absurd optimism. Does he really think the team will bounce back? A feeling of fatalism hovers in his interviews, as if a part of him was already turned towards Maranello...

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