F1 News
Hamilton struggling after critical Brazil GP: "Sees the glass half empty"
Guenther Steiner says that a critical Lewis Hamilton is struggling at Mercedes and only "sees the glass half empty" amid the struggles of the German team. The seven-time world champion has three races remaining at Mercedes until he makes the huge transfer to Ferrari for the 2025 season in search of a record-breaking eighth world title, but the end of his tenure at the German team is ending extremely disappointingly.
Since joining the team in 2013 after leaving McLaren, Hamilton has won six of his seven world titles, forming one of the greatest driver and team combinations the world of Formula 1 has ever seen. However, after missing out on his eighth world title in 2021, it has been a real struggle for Mercedes to find their way back to the front of the grid, resulting in Hamilton making the move to the Scuderia for next season.
In his final season with the German team, the 39-year-old has picked up two wins, including a brilliant win at the British Grand Prix. However, the final few races have been extremely disappointing, and at the Brazilian Grand Prix, a Q1 exit heaped the misery onto Hamilton and Mercedes. He managed to work his way to P10 to pick up a point, but over the team radio at the end of the race, he said it was the worst the car had ever felt in a critical message.
Hamilton may have checked out early while Russell pushes until the end
When asked about the situation surrounding Hamilton and Mercedes, Steiner, while a part of The Red Flags Podcast, believes there may not be as much interest and effort coming from the seven-time world champion: "The car [W15] is what it is. It's not the best car, it's the fourth-best car at the moment on a good day. So I think Lewis, knowing that he's leaving anyway, is like it's easier to complain. But George has got all the interest to do whatever he has to do there to get it out of it, to show that he's the leader of the team for the future. He has to prove that because he knows that his seat, when his contract is up, is not 100% safe."
With Hamilton leaving Mercedes after 2025, Russell's contract runs out before the 2026 season gets underway, meaning his future is still undecided at the team. While Kimi Antonelli recently signed to replace Hamilton, there has been a lot of talk from Toto Wolff about the availability of Max Verstappen for the 2026 season, and Steiner believes that may be a reason for Russell to show that he can lead the German team.
"Russell is trying to do his best, puts everything into it, and on the other side, Lewis is there and he doesn't like the car, how it drives, knows that now in three races that he's not there anymore. It gets at him, and I would say he's not dealing with that very well," continued the former Haas team principal.
But Steiner does not believe that Hamilton's change in mood around Mercedes has come from being less involved in meetings throughout the season, preparing for when he leaves: "Lewis has so much experience, he doesn't need to be in this meeting, I mean, his engineer is in there anyway, because you need to set the car up. Lewis always has to give the feedback, what he wants on the car. But it's all of these things. I mean, the car, it is what it is.
"I think Lewis is just, at this point, he doesn't like the car. He complains about it. He sees the glass half empty while George sees his half full with opportunity. Lewis sees it as, 'I've got a few more races to go here, there's nothing left to be won,'" Steiner concluded.
This article was created in collaboration with Corwin Kunst
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