Lewis Hamilton has expressed he is “doing the best with what I’ve got” as he branded Mercedes’ recent woes in Formula 1‘s Sao Paulo Grand Prix as “not acceptable”.
Hamilton, who will go to Ferrari in 2025, looked poised to sustain a promising end to his last season with Mercedes when he won two races before the summer break.
However, Hamilton hasn’t been on the podium rostrum in the seven rounds since then as the German marque’s competitiveness has nosedived compared to its rivals.
The Briton’s slump reached a nadir in Brazil last weekend as he labelled the W15 “the worst car I’ve ever driven” when a Q1 exit succeeded a point-less Sprint showing.
Hamilton managed to at least make progress in the main race from 15th place on the grid as he pounced upon a late Sergio Perez error at Turn 4 to salvage one point.
That did little to improve his mood, though, as the seven-time F1 champion stated that an end to the campaign “can’t come soon enough” amid his wretched weekend.
But despite his impending exit, Hamilton is adamant that he is determined to address the troubles he endured at Interlagos during the remaining three races this term.
“I feel good, obviously,” Hamilton told media including Motorsport Week post-race. “I mean, it’s devastating to have these bad races in the second half of the season.
“But all I can say is we’re trying, we’re coming into the weekend. But it’s definitely not acceptable, it’s definitely not good enough.
“We have to take accountability; I have to take accountability.
“But I am doing the best with what I’ve got. The kit, for some reason, the car has been the worst this weekend.
“I don’t know what it is, we’re going to have to find out what it is.
“But still, the mechanics did a great job getting here early this morning. Practice stops at 4am and all the work they’ve done on the car throughout the weekend.”
Hamilton acknowledges Mercedes car has ‘potential’
Meanwhile, Hamilton has conceded that George Russell heading the opening exchanges as he came home in fourth proves that the W15 does possess inherent pace.
“And one of the cars is working a lot better, so there’s obviously potential there,” he concluded.
READ MORE – Lewis Hamilton: End to 2024 ‘can’t come soon enough’ amid ‘terrible’ Brazil F1 weekend
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