“We haven’t got it right this year”– Lewis Hamilton drops his hopes for 2022 after struggling sprint race in Imola

Tanish Chachra | 23/04/2022
"We haven't got it right this year"– Lewis Hamilton drops his hopes for 2022 after struggling sprint race in Imola

Lewis Hamilton had a difficult sprint race in Imola, as the seven-time-world champion ended up with a P14 result with his W13.

The sprint race in Imola was not an easy affair for Mercedes. The Brackley-based team’s duo finished P11 and P14 in the standings, with Hamilton taking the inferior spot.

The Briton, after the race, talked about the car’s capability. After winning straight eight constructors’ championships, Hamilton agreed that his team didn’t get it right this year.

Though, he also admitted that his team is working hard to get things right. However, when the change occurred, it is remained to be seen ahead of the next few races.

“We haven’t got it right this year, but everyone’s working as hard as they can to correct it,” said Hamilton to Skysports after the race. With the P14, he couldn’t get any points on Saturday.

Also read: Lewis Hamilton refuses to shed light on argument with Mercedes boss Toto Wolff

Lewis Hamilton shouldn’t hope for Sunday

Hamilton probably has no hopes for the Sunday race with underwhelming performances in the Qualifying and sprint race. On the other hand, Ferrari and Red Bull are favourites to grab all three podium positions.

Mercedes would be having a good fortune, even if they finish P4 or P5 with the pace they have been showing this weekend. Haas and Mclaren seem to have obtained better pace at Imola.

Especially McLaren, as Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo finished P5 and P6 respectively on Saturday. Though, Norris admitted that their car could not achieve more than this. So, it is conspicuous that the Woking-based team will be no threat to either Red Bul or Ferrari.

What is wrong with Mercedes?

The only satisfactory answer to Mercedes’ problems is that the porpoising takes too much straight-line speed away from the Silver Arrows.

Moreover, their chassis with no sidepods seems to be a failed experiment. The issue now is that with the budget constraints, Mercedes can’t simply spill cash on making an overhaul. So, they will have to stick with making minimal changes ahead of every race for a while.

This situation would only cost them the prospects of winning the championship in 2022, as Ferrari is far away with their car development. Meanwhile, Red Bull has few fixes to make but has an incredible pace already.

Also read: Lewis Hamilton’s first words when he met Arnold Schwarzenegger

Post Edited By: Tanish Chachra
Lewis Hamilton Mercedes

About the author

Tanish Chachra

Tanish Chachra is the Motorsport editor at The SportsRush. He saw his first race when F1 visited India in 2011, and since then, his romance with the sport has been seasonal until he took up this role in 2020. Reigniting F1's coverage on this site, Tanish has fallen in love with the sport all over again. He loves Kimi Raikkonen and sees a future world champion in Oscar Piastri. Away from us, he loves to snuggle inside his books.

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