Lewis Hamilton’s departure from Mercedes to Ferrari at the culmination of this Formula 1 season marks a significant shift, yet any hopes of a glorious farewell have dimmed as the Silver Arrows grapple with performance woes.
Criticism has been directed at Mercedes for their perceived failure to support Lewis Hamilton in their final campaign together. Hamilton’s impending move to Ferrari at the season’s end has fueled his desire for one last triumph with the team he has served for 11 years.
However, the prospect seems bleak as their latest model, the W15, continues to lag in performance, echoing the erratic behavior of its predecessors.
The gap between Mercedes and frontrunners like Red Bull has not narrowed; in fact, it has widened, with Ferrari and McLaren now firmly positioned ahead of them on the grid.
In light of these challenges, Mark Gallagher, a former Formula 1 executive, believes it is unsurprising that Hamilton is experiencing frustration with the team’s current situation.
“Lewis is what he is and that is a highly experienced seven-time champion who exists to win,” Gallagher remarked, acknowledging Hamilton’s relentless pursuit of victory despite the obstacles he faces.
“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 top achievement across the initial four races stands at seventh place in the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix. Subsequently, he secured ninth place twice, and his hopes were dashed in the Australian Grand Prix due to an engine failure.
Mark Gallagher, with experience on the board at Jordan Grand Prix and later affiliations with Jaguar and Red Bull Racing, evaluates Hamilton’s performances as “slightly substandard.”
However, he stresses the injustice in scrutinizing the seven-time Formula 1 champion for this, attributing the underperformance to Mercedes’ inability to furnish him with the necessary resources for victory.
He further stated: “[Hamilton] is driving a car that is clearly not giving him the confidence and the speed and the consistency that he wants, and they are not able to give him winning strategies.
“I’ve seen this before with world champions in my career that get to a point that a car underneath them isn’t able to give them the success that they want, and it becomes very difficult for them to almost comprehend where they find themselves.
“It’s incredibly frustrating when you are used to turning up, qualifying on the front row, winning races and winning champions, and then finding yourself sliding back in 2022, 2023, and 2024.
“The team isn’t able to give him the car that he wants so it’s not really Lewis dropping his head or being fairly critical of the team, he just goes to those races without a realistic chance of even getting a podium finishing at the moment and that’s incredibly disheartening. It’s a tough one for him.”
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