Mercedes have endured a torrid start to the season for a second year in a row and looked to be the fourth-fastest team at the Bahrain Grand Prix two weeks ago as Hamilton trailed 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Max Verstappen’s dominant Red Bull by over 50 seconds. 

After lagging almost a full second behind Verstappen during Friday practice for the168澳洲5最新开奖结果: Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, Hamilton - who announced his 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:split from long-time physio Angela Cul💞len - conceded that Mercedes’ W14 is 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:no bett꧒er than its troubled predecessor.

Team principal 🧸Toto Wolff admitted in Ba🎐hrain that Mercedes had made a mistake in continuing to pursue their flawed design concept, and accepted his side have “got it wrong” on Friday. 

Assessing Hamilton’s latest comments, Sky Sports F1 presenter Simon Lazenby said: “He’s trying to put a brave face on it. He’s trying to mask his frustrations but it’s clear when ꦛhe speaks.” 

Ex-F1 driver and pundit Karun Chandhok added: “They thou🍷ght ‘if we fix theꦍ bouncing we will unlock the potential’.

“The body language is different this year. They’re not talking about one particular issue this year. It’s more of ꦺan overal𒆙l lack of performance.” 

Meanwhile, 1996 world♒ champion Damon Hill said: “They are scratching their heads. They don’t know what to suggest.

“It’s not that they don’t know what to do. There is only so much t🤡hat they can do.”

Chandhok continued: “George [Russell] said they went aggressive last year. Then this year it is conservative. They don’t have the performance that they hoped. There is head scratching and t𒈔he drivers have spoken about it.

“The big thing is, if I w🔴as Mercede🐬s, ‘what do we do for 2024?’

“Because, in the budget cap era, with all the restricti💃ons, it will be very hard to dial this back for this year. 

“They can🦹not afford to start next year on the backfoot. Whatever they do this year, this have to hit next year running.” 

What about Hamilton’s future? 

Wolff stressed he was “absolutely con⛄fident” that Hamilton, whose current contract expires at the end of the year, would commit to🍌 signing a new deal at Mercedes. 

But the Austrian also made the startling admission that the 38-year-old Briton would need to168澳洲5最新开奖结果: consider his options elsewhere in order to win a record eighth world title if Mercedes cannot deliver a competitive 🗹car in the next year or two. 

Reacting to Wolff’s headli✱ne-grabbing remarks, Hill commented: “That’s not a pressure statement. He expects to come to an agreement for next year with Lewis.

“Where else do you go? You don’t want to go somewhere that’s not as good. So there’s only one team, anꦍd that’s Red Bull.” 

Lazenby replied: “It was almost an admission, an 💧a𒁃cceptance, that they won’t keep him if they stay at this level of performance.” 

C🍰handไhok suspects Wolff and Hamilton are trying to apply pressure to Mercedes’ design team. 

“They are ramping up the pressure on the design team,” he said. “Divide ꧋the team up - there is a team of engineers and designers who design the car - it’s on those people [who are pressurised]. It’s not the mechanics or drivers who are doing a brilliant job with the tools they are given.

“This shows Toto’s racing brain. He gets that drivers are in it for themselves first. Lewis, as an individual athlete, wants to be world champওion every year.

“Toto is a realist. He recognises that if ♔an athlete can’t achieve it with his team, he’ll look elsewhere. It was pragmatic from Toto.” 

On Hamilton, Hill added: “He is driven by the performance 💖of the team.

“He wants to race, he wants a competitive car, Mercedes can provide that but t🍒hey need a new paradig🍨m. So what will happen next?” 

Chandhok concluded: “H🌺e wants an eighth championship. He has to be🍃 in the right car to do that.”