If the third Free Practice Session in Australia was anything to go by, it looked like Mercedes was right in the mix with the Red Bulls and the Ferraris. Both British drivers, Lewis Hamilton, and George Russell looked confident during the session as they ended up within 2 tenths of the fastest lap time set by Charles Leclerc. However, the qualifying session in the afternoon turned out to be a disaster for the team as the 7-time champion got knocked out of Q2 by a brilliant flying lap from Yuki Tsunoda. After the session, Hamilton voiced his frustration with the performance of the W15, however, Toto Wolff later defended the team by denying the claims made by Lewis.

Describing his experience behind the wheel of the Mercedes W15, Hamilton expressed that the car felt “on a knife edge.“ Despite a promising fourth-place finish in final practice, Hamilton’s performance in qualifying didn’t reflect the same level of competitiveness. He attributed this dip in pace to various factors, including changes in wind conditions, which significantly impacted the handling of the car.

Hamilton also shed light on the problem he has been facing since 2022 while setting his car up. Reflecting on this, Hamilton explained the similarities between his current situation and past challenges, indicating a persistent effort to explore different setup options to improve performance. “I was trying every set-up that there was [in 2022] to try and help the team try and find options and figure out how we can fix it. It’s pretty much the same, a little bit similar to this year, I’m trying lots of different things but I think this weekend we’re much closer.”

He even went on to say that he has now gotten used to the sinking feeling of knowing that he might not make it all the way into Q3 in every race. “I’m a bit used to it now, getting knocked out of Q2 so… Kind of just a flat feeling, it’s not great but, yeah.”

Toto Wolff, however, emphasized the positives, stating that the W15 was not too far away from the front runners when the conditions were a little more favorable. “It was an underwhelming qualifying session today, particularly as we were only a few tenths off the fastest time in FP3. The conditions were different between the sessions, and we suffered from that… It is not because of a lack of trying that we are where we are, and we will push to get better. We will keep our heads down and work through this.”

While Hamilton keeps complaining about the unpredictability of the car, his teammate has not faced any such issues according to his latest statement.

Unlike Lewis Hamilton, George Russell is relatively happy with the W15

While Hamilton has constantly expressed frustration over what he called the “inconsistency“ of the Mercedes W15, George Russell seems to not be facing similar concerns. Securing a P7 grid position, Russell expressed confidence in his own performance and the handling of his car. He mentioned to the media that he doesn’t experience the same fluctuations in confidence or performance as Hamilton does.

“I’m definitely not having the fluctuations in confidence or performance on my side of the garage, or in my car, compared to what Lewis is experiencing,” Russell told Sky F1. “I’m reasonably happy with how the car is handling, we just don’t quite have the performance.”

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F1 presenter and former Formula 1 driver Karun Chandhok shed light on Hamilton’s concerns, suggesting that the issues extend beyond session-to-session inconsistencies. Chandhok pointed out that Hamilton seems to struggle even within corners, affecting his confidence and lap times. He described the feeling of uncertainty drivers face when they can’t predict the car’s behavior, leading to cautious driving and slower lap times.

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Why is Lewis Hamilton struggling more than his teammate in a similar car? Has Lewis really lost confidence in the W15? What are your thoughts on the matter?