Lewis Hamilton might remain frustrated with Mercedes despite much awaited Monaco upgrades, reckons F1 pundit

Former F1 driver Johnny Herbert insists that Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes have failed to fix the W14.

Lewis Hamilton might remain frustrated with Mercedes despite much awaited Monaco upgrades, reckons F1 pundit

Lewis Hamilton (Image via The Mirror)

Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes have failed to achieve success with the new ground-effect F1 regulations. The 7-time world champion has struggled as the Silver Arrows couldn’t match the pace of Red Bull and Ferrari. The 38-year-old expressed his frustration with the underwhelming machinery in the past. Former F1 driver Johnny Herbert claims Hamilton’s struggles might continue for the foreseeable future.

The 59-year-old explained that Mercedes did not get the anticipated results from its ‘zero sidepods’ concept. The Brackley-based team decided to keep developing on its philosophy over the winter but to no avail. Herbert pointed out Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff‘s comments over the team adopting a new approach to fix its issues.

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However, Johnny was convinced that the Silver Arrows have failed to live up to those remarks despite having some of the most talented personnel on the grid. He said, “it’s obvious they have not been able to do that”. The former British driver believed that the concept itself obstructed Hamilton and Mercedes from moving up the pecking order.

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Mercedes W14 update package to debut in Monaco

The Mercedes W14 in the team garage, image via Ruetir.com
The Mercedes W14 in the team garage, image via Ruetir.com

The German squad had planned to bring a major update package to the Emilia Romagna GP. Unfortunately, the treacherous weather conditions forced F1 to cancel the race altogether. Lewis Hamilton will get to test the upgraded W14 in Monaco. This package is the first step in Mercedes’ efforts to close the gap with Red Bull.

The Silver Arrows have also made changes on its technical side, with James Allison returning to the role of Technical Director in a bid to improve the team’s current situation. Although these changes will take some time before truly showing results. Toto had made it clear that the team would not bring an upgraded new chassis this season due to the F1 cost cap. This would undoubtedly affect Hamilton.

Thus, Johnny Herbert believes there is a long way to go for Mercedes before they get back to the front of the grid. Lewis Hamilton could potentially have no choice but to continue racing with underwhelming machinery, at least for this season. The British driver has bagged only a single podium so far, at the Australian GP. It remains to be seen if the upgrades for Monaco help turn things around for the Silver Arrows.

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