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Why Is Lewis Hamilton So Slow in 2024?

Published 03/18/2024, 6:12 AM EDT

I once accidentally stumbled upon Lewis Hamilton‘s interview with David Letterman and fell in love with his story and, in turn, the sport. The inspiring story of a never-say-die attitude and the feathers in his supremely decorated cap. Everything about him is magical. The man who has won 103 Grands Prix was on his way to winning his 104th and along with it his 8th title in 2021 when a “human error” deprived him of it. Lewis hasn’t won a race since then. And considering his performance as opposed to Max Verstappen‘s, it will be a steep climb if he wasn’t to equal his wins to pole positions. But why is he so slow in 2024?

Identifying why Lewis Hamilton hasn’t been able to improve lap times like his teammate George Russell, stalwarts like David Coulthard stated, “At the moment it seems that he is mentally already thinking about his next transfer to Ferrari.” Could that be true? The Brit has stated in the past that he wants to concentrate on giving his best at Mercedes in his last year and recently even stated why he is slow in comparison to his teammate.

Lewis Hamilton “lacked confidence” during the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix due to the persisting issue

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Lewis Hamilton has been aiming to claim back what was stolen from him; his 8th title. However, the man has been stuck around the P8 grid position instead of inching closer to his 8th title. BUT WHY? The man has not felt confident in W15 as opposed to George Russell, who has been relatively enjoying his new machine.

According to Formula 1, Hamilton reflected on his FP2 session. He said, “Yeah, a typical day, just lacking the confidence in the rear of the car. [With] the set-up we did some work session to session, changed quite a bit, but [there was still the] underlying issue with the rear end that I was struggling with, so I had a couple of really big moments out there. In these high-speed areas, you need to have full faith in the rear of the car and I don’t have that yet.”

On his expectations for qualifying, Hamilton said, “I don’t know, we need to go through the data, but George is obviously a lot happier with his car. We went in different directions today, trying different things to find the right solution for the car, but yeah, all I want is a stable rear and then I’ll be happy, so that’s what we are working on.”

We know what the issue that drivers, especially Lewis Hamilton, are facing, but what does the team and, more importantly, Toto Wolff feel the real issue is?

Toto Wolff reveals real issue after Mercedes’ lukewarm start

Toto Wolff called W12 a shit box when Lewis Hamilton almost injured his back and had trouble getting out of his car in Azerbaijan in 2022. And the narrative, despite many tries, hasn’t changed. George Russell’s Brazil 2022 victory even massaged Mercedes’ ego and the team thought the zero side pod design was waiting for some hidden potential to be unlocked. How wrong they were! Mid-season in 2023, they finally brought side pods and a different chassis, but P2 was the best the team could manage.

In 2024, when Lewis Hamilton is in his final season at Mercedes, things are still pretty shambolic and the team is off to their worst start in the hybrid era. Just when we thought things couldn’t get worse.

According to Sky Sports, Mercedes Team Principal, Toto Wolff said, “It’s just the high-speed variant where we are losing the lap time. There is only so much you can tune here. Our simulations point us in a direction, and this is the kind of set-up range that we then choose.”

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He added, “You put the rear wing on, and I think you gain a few tenths or not if you get the set-up right or wrong. But there’s not a massive corridor of performance. It’s a more fundamental thing that we believe the speed should be there. And we measure the downforce, but we don’t find it on the lap time.”

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Do you think Lewis Hamilton will win a Grand Prix in 2024? or will it be with his new team Ferrari in 2025?

Editorial Disclaimer: The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of EssentiallySports.

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Written by:

Anmol is an F1 writer at EssentiallySports. With a background in journalism and a passion for motorsports, she brings a unique perspective to her coverage of the world of F1. Anmol's interest in the sport was piqued after watching Lewis Hamilton's interview with David Letterman, and she has been a dedicated follower ever since.

Edited by:

Akash Pandhare

Why Is Lewis Hamilton So Slow in 2024?

Lewis Hamilton “lacked confidence” during the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix due to the persisting issue

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