After Failed Efforts to Improve Performance, Lewis Hamilton’s Arch Rival Points Why Mercedes Star Was “Really Down”

Ever since the start of the 2023 season, Mercedes has been hard at work to improve their performances after a dismal 2022 season. With the end of qualification for the 14th race of the season, they still seem to be far from their goals as Lewis Hamilton looked dejected. Speaking about the Briton’s emotions, Crash.net quotes Nico Rosberg’s explanation behind it.

After the practice sessions, Mercedes were hoping for a good qualifying session in Monza, but it wasn’t meant to be. While both drivers made it to Q3, unlike in Zandvoort, Hamilton could only muster up a P8 finish, while Russell had a better outing as he qualified P4 for the feature race.

With Russell once again outperforming Hamilton, the 38-year-old’s woes continue to grow while driving for the Silver Arrows. The former world champion has not won a race in over a year and doesn’t look to be vying for a GP win this year, either.

Nico Rosberg explains why Lewis Hamilton looked “really down”

Hamilton finished behind teammate Russell for the second race in a row. With a P8 finish in qualifying, the 7-time world champion was far from satisfied as he looked extremely downhearted after Q3 in Monza. Having raced alongside him for a couple of years, Nico Rosberg knows the Briton well enough to have his say over what might have been the cause behind the 38-year-old’s dejection.

“You can see he’s really down, he still hates to come behind his teammate. That’s still the case.”

In an interview after Saturday’s qualifying, Hamilton expressed his views about his performance on the day. The one-word summation by the driver was “sh*t,” but there was more that followed. Hamilton admitted to it being a terrible session for him as he struggled in each lap of the session.

A rollercoaster-esque season for Mercedes so far

The start of the 2023 season was far from ideal for the Brackley-based outfit as they failed to achieve a top-three finish in the first two races this year. They made a comeback at the Australian GP, with Hamilton securing P2, but were knocked out of the top 5 in the next race. While the team has shown improvements throughout the season, they haven’t been as consistent as they would like. They currently rank second in the constructor’s championship, but Aston Martin is hot on their tail as the gap between the two is only 40 points.

 

Toto Wolff says that Lewis Hamilton’s 2 year contract extension was signed back in May! 😅

[@SkySportsF1] pic.twitter.com/YcFsSuqAKb

— Mercedes-AMG F1 News (@MercedesNewsUK) September 1, 2023

Before the race weekend at Monza began, Mercedes announced Hamilton had signed a contract extension that would see him be a part of the team until the end of 2025. However, with the team’s performances not being up to the mark, the contract might not fetch him an eighth world title in the next two seasons.