Condemning his W15 as a “plank of wood” in Brazil, Marc
Priestley fears Lewis Hamilton is in a “similar” situation to Daniel Ricciardo
and Sergio Perez in that today’s ground-effect aerodynamic F1 cars don’t suit
his driving style.
Scoring a single point at the Brazilian Grand Prix
weekend, a race that he has won three times, Hamilton didn’t
hold back in his criticism of his Mercedes F1 car.
Is Lewis Hamilton struggling to adapt to today’s F1 cars?
11th in the Sprint qualifying and the Sprint, Hamilton
spoke of his car being similar to “Baku 2022” as he suffered with severe
porpoising.
It didn’t get any better in qualifying and the Grand Prix
as he was eliminated in Q1 where he was 16th fastest, and decried the “damn
car” before telling the media it was the “worst” car he’d ever driven, before
racing his way to P10 in the 71-lap Grand Prix.
But even then he had nothing nice to say about his F1
car.
“That was a disaster weekend, guys,” he radioed to
Mercedes after taking the chequered flag in 10th place. “That’s the worst the
car’s ever been.”
He doubled down on that in his post-race interviews,
saying: “It’s
like a plank of wood. There’s no suspension. It’s just bouncing on the
tyres, everywhere. Can’t get on the power anywhere.
“The worst ride definitely that we’ve ever had,
particularly through corners. Just so stiff.”
On a day when “at least one car was behaving” as Russell
raced for a podium finish before crossing the line in fourth place, Hamilton’s
frustrations were notable.
The Brazilian Grand Prix was just the latest stumble from
Hamilton in a season in which he has already lost the qualifying head-to-head
battle with Russell, while now he also trails his team-mate in the Drivers’ Championship.
Priestley, a former McLaren mechanic, sees similarities between Hamilton’s troubles as those of former VCARB driver Daniel Ricciardo. He puts Sergio Perez, who could yet lose his Red Bull seat in the midst of his woes, in the same category of drivers whose driving style isn’t suited to today’s ground-effect aerodynamic cars.
