Understeer Nightmare: Hamilton’s Frustration Mounts as Mercedes Flounders in Chinese GP
Hamilton and Mercedes Chemistry Is Falling off the Cliff in 2024
Mercedes’ Struggles Continues
The Chinese Grand Prix showcased yet another dominant performance from Max Verstappen as he further solidified his path to a new championship in Formula 1. While the podium saw no significant surprises, the real action unfolded in the middle of the pack, particularly for one of the sport’s greatest legends, Lewis Hamilton.
Time to say goodbye to Shanghai ‘till next year. Sure felt good to be back near the front in the Sprint on Saturday
As Toto said, we know we’re not fast enough right now, but there’s developments on the way in the next few races
Keep your support coming 🙏 pic.twitter.com/D1yLMcnraP
— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) April 22, 2024
Hamilton’s Struggle With Understeer
Hamilton, one of the regular protagonists of F1 news, faced one of his toughest races in recent memory at the Chinese Grand Prix. Starting from a disappointing 18th position after a shocking Q1 elimination, Hamilton’s troubles continued into the race as he battled unprecedented understeer in his Mercedes.
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Hamilton expressed his frustration with the handling of his car, likening the understeer to damage and admitting that he had never experienced such a challenge before.
“I thought maybe at the beginning I tapped someone because I have never had so much understeer in my life, so I was turning in at slow speed and waiting, waiting, waiting,” Hamilton admitted to the media after the race.
“So, I thought I had damaged something like some of the others because there was debris going everywhere at one point, but it was just the set-up that I chose.
“With better decisions on set-up, we would be around where George is, but we just have to keep fighting.”
Despite his efforts to climb up the grid, Hamilton ultimately finished in a disappointing 9th place, far from where he and the team had hoped to be.
P18➡️P9
Up nine places in the Chinese GP and securing some valuable points 💪 pic.twitter.com/EyAXjSfPul
— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) April 21, 2024
Hamilton’s stats this year are far from what we are used to. His best result was seventh place in the Bahrain Grand Prix. So he seems to be looking ahead to next year when he’ll be racing for Ferrari. During an interview, he expressed being excited to compete in the Chinese Grand Prix again and put on a good show for his fans.
Mercedes’ Disappointing Performance
Mercedes, a team accustomed to success, faced a challenging weekend in China as, according to F1 rumors, they struggled to find the right setup for their cars. Team principal Toto Wolff acknowledged the shortcomings, stating that the team’s performance was simply “not good enough.”
A reminder of how things stand 📊
Five races down, another 19 to go!#F1 #ChineseGP pic.twitter.com/4Z8UaodvwJ
— Formula 1 (@F1) April 22, 2024
“I think considering where we put the cars altogether, the drivers and the team was not in a good position today,” Toto said and added “Not good enough overall. P6 I think it was, and P10 (ninth, ed), but it was lacking pace.
“So we’ve got to dig deep. We’ve got something coming from Miami that looks like a good step. Let’s see where that brings us.”
Mercedes found themselves far from the podium positions they typically compete for. However, Wolff remains hopeful, especially with what they have prepared for the next stop of the F1 schedule, the Miami GP.
Our points scorers in Shanghai 👀#F1 #ChineseGP pic.twitter.com/vUZTzCqmPd
— Formula 1 (@F1) April 21, 2024
