Lewis Hamilton admits he is not ‘having fun’ after P9 result in Saudi Arabia

Lewis Hamilton failed to beat the likes of McLaren's Oscar Piastri in Jeddah as Mercedes struggles in the early part of the 2024 season.

Lewis Hamilton admits he is not ‘having fun’ after P9 result in Saudi Arabia

Lewis Hamilton (via: Imago)

Lewis Hamilton had a mediocre weekend at the Saudi Arabian GP. Mercedes seemed to struggle to match McLaren in Jeddah. George Russell and Hamilton qualified in P7 and P8 respectively, behind the two Woking cars. The seven-time world champion failed to make progress in the race and ultimately finished in ninth place. Now, the Briton has highlighted that he does not enjoy bringing home a couple of points for the team.

Hamilton claimed that the Saudi Arabian GP was not a fun weekend for the Briton. The seven-time world champion pinpointed that he fought for ninth spot in the race. Certainly, Lewis Hamilton was not thrilled by racing for two points considering the 39-year-old is statistically the most successful driver in Formula 1 history.

I wouldn't say I'm having fun. I mean, I'm racing for ninth, so I definitely can't say that. Finishing ninth is definitely not fun.
Lewis Hamilton told Motorsport.com
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On the other hand, the Briton claimed that he was at least enjoying racing against his rivals. Lewis Hamilton reckoned that he pushed himself to the limit during the race to gain as much ground as possible. The seven-time world champion was on the edge as he tried to extract the most out of the Mercedes W15 in the streets of Jeddah.

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But I am enjoying the actual racing part. And I was hunting and I was pushing as hard as I could, I was maximising everything I had with the car, I was right on the edge.

Lewis Hamilton claims he felt like racing in a ‘different category’ in Jeddah

The Mercedes driver revealed that the W15 was strong in low speed corners. Moreover, the Silver Arrows were seemingly on par when it came to medium-speed corners against the likes of McLaren. However, Lewis Hamilton admitted that the team had a lot of work to do to match the competition in high-speed sections.

We're good in the low-speed, and some of the medium-speed, we're not so bad. It's just really the high-speed, so we just have to add performance.
Lewis Hamilton
Lewis Hamilton (via IMAGO)

Additionally, Lewis Hamilton confessed that he felt like racing in a different category at the Saudi Arabian GP. The seven-time world champion cited the massive disparity in high-speed corners between Mercedes and the competition as the reason. As the Silver Arrows severely lag behind in this regard.

It was like I was in a different category when I was going through the high speed with the other guys around me.

Previously, Lewis Hamilton admitted that Mercedes needed to make progress with in-season upgrades for the W15. The Silver Arrows have failed to catch up with the likes of Red Bull and Ferrari. However, it remains to be seen if Hamilton and Russell could potentially fight for podiums in the coming races.

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