“He’s only driven perfect cars, he’s spoiled”- Former F1 driver believes Lewis Hamilton struggling at Mercedes is down to his own high expectations from the W13

Former F1 driver Marc Surer feels that driving a dominant Mercedes car for all these years has made Lewis Hamilton ‘spoiled’. 

Hamilton’s move to Mercedes in 2013 came under heavy scrutiny. He left McLaren, who were winning races to a team that was still finding it’s feet in F1. Fast forward to today, and we can all agree that the move was nothing short of genius.

The Silver Arrows dominated the sport from 2014-2021, winning eight consecutive Constructors’ Titles. During those years Hamilton established his status as one of the greatest ever by winning Six World Championships.

Every single race he started during Mercedes’ dominant run, he was favorite to win. The Brackley based outfit were unmatched in terms of performance, with Ferrari and Red Bull repeatedly falling short.

Ahead of the regulation changes of 2022 however, many people correctly predicted a slump for the Mercedes. The German team are no longer the best in the field, but Ferrari and Red Bull outperforming the W13 in terms of pace.

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Lewis Hamilton isn’t used to driving fast in a bad car, George Russell is

Mercedes have two podium finishes so far this season. That has put them up in P2 in the standings, but the outfit well and truly know that it’s more due to Red Bull’s reliability related DNFs that they’re second.

While the Mercedes car does seem reliable, it has been struggling massively with porposing. It’s led to the W13 being incredibly slow, especially in the straights. Marc Surer who raced in F1 from 1979-1986 feels that Russell holds an advantage over Hamilton on this aspect.

“Russell is used to driving fast with a bad car. Lewis is no longer used to that,” Surer said. “He has only driven perfect cars for the last few years, he’s spoiled”.

Russell, who joined Mercedes in 2022 is nine points ahead of his teammate this year. Surer however feels that it’s only a matter of time before Hamilton gains the upper hand.

“I actually thought he would have a harder time against Russell, especially in qualifying,” said the 70-year old. “But there is not much missing, there is hardly any difference between the two. And in the race, Hamilton is the benchmark, who always whines on the radio, but on the other hand always gives everything. That’s why I’m not worried about Lewis.”

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