Amidst $250,000,000 Contract Negotiations, Lewis Hamilton Admits Being Unhappy With the Team for Over a Year

Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes have been synonymous with each other ever since the Briton joined the Silver Arrows back in 2013. Although now that the partnership is nearing expiration, Hamilton and Mercedes are yet to pen down a renewal amidst Hamilton’s alleged $250,000,000 demand from the team. Following this and Mercedes’ persistent poor performance, the 7x world champion is left unhappy with the Silver Arrows.

The fact that Mercedes have failed miserably to provide Hamilton with a competitive car over the last two season isn’t helping their cause at all. Due to the recent incompetence shown by the Brackley outfit, there has been widespread speculation about Hamilton’s future in the team.

Things have also gotten quite a bit tense at times between Hamilton and Mercedes. During the Saudi Arabian GP, Hamilton openly criticized Mercedes for not listening to his advice while developing their car. The Briton was quite unhappy and had said, “Last year, I told them the issues that are with the car. Like, I’ve driven so many cars in my life, so I know what a car needs.“

Lewis Hamilton feels limited by the Mercedes car

Despite the constant efforts being made by the team to improve the car, Lewis Hamilton is still not satisfied with where the car is at right now in terms of development. Hamilton commented, “I’ve not been happy in the car for the past year and a bit.”

He continued and explained, “You’re just limited, the stability of the car and the confidence of where you can put the car.” He revealed that the car has been unpredictable for quite a long time.

It has been 32 races since Hamilton last won a Grand Prix. His last victory came in Saudi Arabia in 2021, the season where he lost out on his eighth world championship title in the last race of the season. Since then, Hamilton has managed to finish second on quite a few occasions, but a win has always eluded the Briton. This can be a major factor in his decision to renew his contract.

Hamilton still believes in Mercedes

However, it was not all negative from Hamilton. The Briton explained that the direction that Mercedes are moving toward at the moment aligns with what Hamilton wants. He said, “Slowly we’re rebuilding confidence in the platform I have. It’s still not 100%. I’m still not able to extract the full potential from myself but we’re getting there.”

Mercedes brought in some major upgrades at Monaco and it worked wonders. Hamilton managed to claim two back-to-back podiums in Spain and Canada. However, it was the same old story in Austria as the seven-time world champion finished in eighth place.

Mercedes is set to bring in another big upgrade package at Silverstone. The team is confident that the upgrade would be enough to propel them to the front of the grid. Whether the upgrades will work as expected, or Mercedes will keep on struggling, remains to be seen.