“It appeared out of nowhere,” Lewis Hamilton admits 2024 will be a ‘hard season’ after shock engine failure at the Australian GP

Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes power unit failed mid-way through the Australian GP, forcing the Briton to retire from the race.

“It appeared out of nowhere,” Lewis Hamilton admits 2024 will be a ‘hard season’ after shock engine failure at the Australian GP

Lewis Hamilton (via IMAGO), Lewis Hamilton retiring from Australian GP due to engine failure (Via @blog_formula1/X)

Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes have continued to struggle in the 2024 F1 season. The Silver Arrows failed to live up to expectations. The 39-year-old even failed to make it to the top 10 in Australian GP Qualifying. However, things went from bad to worse for the seven-time world champion in the Grand Prix. The British driver was forced to retire after an engine failure.

After the race, Lewis Hamilton shared his thoughts over the incident. The seven-time world champion claimed that the engine simply seized during the race. The Briton was asked when he realized that the power unit had failed, Lewis Hamilton stated that it happened in a split second as it was completely out of nowhere during the race.

I think engine seized… it just appeared out of nowhere, it was a split second thing.
Lewis Hamilton told Sky Sports F1
YouTube video

Moreover, the seven-time world champion claimed that there was not much Mercedes could do to improve for the next race. Lewis Hamilton admitted that this season was going to be difficult for the Silver Arrows. Moreover, George Russell had a massive high speed crash on the final lap of the race. It must be noted that this is Hamilton’s last season with Mercedes. The 39-year-old will move to Ferrari next year.

FS Video
Nothing. This will be a hard season.
Lewis Hamilton told Brazilian TV (H&T: @fiagirly/X)

Lewis Hamilton claims Red Bull is a ‘second’ quicker than Mercedes

Hamilton had come close to battling Red Bull’s Sergio Perez during the Australian GP. However, Perez was able to utilize RB20’s pace advantage and get clear of the Mercedes. As such, the Silver Arrows had an evident deficit to the reigning world champions at Albert Park, which is expected to continue in the coming races.

Lewis Hamilton and Sergio Perez.
Lewis Hamilton and Sergio Perez. (Via IMAGO)

Lewis Hamilton admitted that there was a massive gap to Red Bull. The seven-time world champion went as far as claiming that Milton Keynes was a second quicker than Mercedes. Hamilton acknowledged that Perez was on fresher tires. However, the 39-year-old was still surprised how Checo managed to pull away from his car.

There is a massive gap [to Red Bull]. I think they have a second on us, something like that. He was on fresh tires but yeah just the way he [Sergio Perez] pulled way.
Lewis Hamilton told Sky Sports F1

Certainly, Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes have had another disappointing race this season. The Silver Arrows would be hoping to turn things around in the coming races. However, it seems that Hamilton has made up his mind that 2024 will be tough for Brackley. Although, it remains to be seen how things pan out in the upcoming rounds of the season.

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