P1racenews AI automatic summary:
Lewis Hamilton admits he will be “happy” to see the back of Mercedes’ 2023 Formula 1 car after enduring a
Despite starting the race in a promising position, both Lewis Hamilton and his teammate George Russell struggled with pace during the 24-lap race at Interlagos. While Russell managed to secure fourth place, Hamilton dropped to seventh behind Charles Leclerc and Yuki Tsunoda, finishing 34.7 seconds behind the race winner Max Verstappen. This setback for Mercedes came after a series of races where they had shown progress, making Hamilton eager for the upcoming season to start. Hamilton admitted that he struggled with the balance of his car throughout the race, leading to severe tire degradation. Although there was only one practice hour to optimize setups due to the presence of the Sprint format, Hamilton denied being frustrated by the revised schedule, attributing his frustration solely to Mercedes’ uncompetitive performance. Furthermore, Hamilton disagreed with Russell’s claim that cooler track conditions could benefit Mercedes in the Grand Prix, stating that the tire degradation he experienced was the worst he had ever encountered at Interlagos.
Forrás: Motorsport Week
