Hamilton: “I told them” - Mercedes “must own up and say ‘we didn’t listen’”
Mercedes have started the 2023 season with the fourth-fastest car behind Red Bull, Ferrari and Aston Martin.
Red Bull stormed to a dominant 1-2 finish in the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix, while Hamilton and George Russell finished fifth and seventh respectively.
While the issue of porpoising is no longer there, the W14 simply lacks downforce and mechanical grip.
After a difficult weekend in Bahrain, Hamilton has appeared to take a more critical stance on Mercedes’ plight.
“Last year, I told them the issues that are with the car,” Hamilton told the BBC. “Like, I’ve driven so many cars in my life, so I know what a car needs, I know what a car doesn’t need.
“And I think it’s really about accountability, it’s about owning up and saying ‘yeah, you know what, we didn’t listen to you, it’s not where it needs to be and we’ve got to work’.
“We’ve got to look into the balance through the corners, look at all the weak points and just huddle up as a team, that’s what we do.
“We’re still multi world champions you know, it’s just they haven’t got it right this time, they didn’t get it right last year, but that doesn’t mean we can’t get it right moving forwards.”
Hamilton admitted Mercedes’ form is reminiscent of his days with McLaren in the early 2010s, when they often didn’t have the outright pace of Red Bull and Sebastian Vettel.
“I enjoyed that I managed to have a couple of battles,” he added.. “And it was close, but not quite there.
“And I’ve had many cars like this, particularly back in the McLaren days, and I don’t know when or how we’re going to do it in terms of turning it around, but it’s going to have to happen.”
