Lewis Hamilton admits to lacking ‘faith’ in W15 that George Russell claimed was built around the seven-time world champion

Lewis Hamilton has proved second best at Mercedes during the ongoing 2024 F1 season.

Lewis Hamilton admits to lacking ‘faith’ in W15 that George Russell claimed was built around the seven-time world champion

Lewis Hamilton and George Russell (Via: Imago)

Lewis Hamilton came into the 2024 F1 season with the hope of hitting the ground running from the very first race. But things have not panned out in his favor as he struggled in Bahrain and the same is happening during the ongoing Saudi Arabian GP weekend.

Yesterday, Lewis Hamilton had a tough outing during the FP1 and FP2 sessions. He was massively off the pace that his teammate, George Russell was able to set in the other Mercedes W15. Moreover, the latter ended the FP2 session in a brilliant second place, this is a bit of a surprise as the latter recently claimed that the Mercedes 2024 car was built around the former seven-time world champion.

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Hamilton, despite his best efforts, was only able to manage an eighth-place finish and while shedding light on his tough outing during the post-FP2 session interviews, he said, as reported by racingnews365:

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It was a difficult day, and I was just lacking confidence in the rear of the car. I had a couple of really big moments out there - and in these high-speed you need to have full faith in the rear of the car, and I just don't have that yet. We are going to have to go through the data and stuff, but George is obviously a lot happier with his car.

The 39-year-old has admitted that he has so far struggled behind the wheel of Mercedes’s 2024 challenger. Moreover, has made it known that during the ongoing Saudi Arabian GP weekend, he has been fighting the rear end of his car while hitting the Jeddah track at high speeds.

Lewis Hamilton has an uphill battle during the rest of the Saudi Arabian GP weekend

While Lewis Hamilton has made it known he has so far struggled around the streets of the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, there are still two days of running left. Moreover, today is the all-important Saudi Arabian GP qualifying session.

Toto Wolff and Lewis Hamilton.
Toto Wolff and Lewis Hamilton (via IMAGO)

Track position for the 50-lap race in Jeddah is quite important. Over the years, the front runners have mostly been the ones who have been able to triumph in the Jeddah event. Considering this, the FP3 session will be immensely crucial from the point of view of Hamilton.

It will be his last opportunity before qualifying to nail the setup on his W15 and iron out the problems he has faced so far. The lights of Red Bull, Aston Martin, and Ferrari have looked strong in Saudi, but the Mercedes car has also been at the north end courtesy of George Russell. Keeping in view everything that has been discussed, several people will have their eyes glued on Lewis Hamilton’s W15 during the upcoming FP3 and qualifying sessions.

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