Root cause of Lewis Hamilton struggles identified by Wolff after ‘just slow’ claim

Lewis Hamilton just cannot drive this generation of Mercedes how he wants to, rather than his speed having left him, says Toto Wolff.

The end of the F1 record-breaking partnership of Hamilton and Mercedes is nearing its conclusion, with Hamilton having agreed a multi-year deal with Ferrari from F1 2025. However, the conclusion to his Mercedes career and build-up to that blockbuster Ferrari switch has taken a concerning twist.

Toto Wolff does not believe Lewis Hamilton ‘just slow’

Additional reporting by Thomas Maher

Hamilton has cut a dejected figure in recent race weekends, and despite battling back to a P2 finish last time out in Las Vegas, the buzz was gone by the end of Qatar Sprint qualifying, as after being restricted to P7 compared to team-mate George Russell on pole, Hamilton declared “I’m just slow” and that is the “same as every other qualifying”. Russell sits 18-5 ahead of Hamilton in the F1 2024 qualifying head-to-head.

Hamilton once more was behind Russell in qualifying for the main race in Qatar – falling just over four-tenths short with Russell again on pole after Max Verstappen’s grid penalty – leading to more downbeat words from Hamilton.

“I’m slow in general,” he told the media, including PlanetF1.com, highlighting that he has been “a half-second off my team-mate in the same car.”

Wolff though does not believe that the seven-time World Champion has simply lost his ability over a single lap.

“I’m certain that it’s not true,” Wolff told F1 TV.

“It’s just this generation of cars, particularly how the car is now. It’s just something that he likes, he’s a late braker, he carries a lot of speed on the entry to the corner and the car doesn’t take it. You can see him inking out, taking more and more time intellectually, and trying to find more performance.

“We need to give him a car that’s to his liking. He’s very team-oriented, doesn’t say anything, but he’s not happy with the car.”

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Hamilton at least retains confidence in his race performance – which shone through in that Las Vegas runner-up result from P10 on the grid – but alas, he is ready for the end of his Mercedes tenure.

“I still got it. I definitely know I’ve still got it,” said Hamilton of his race pace after Qatar qualifying.

“But I’m looking forward to the end.”

After Qatar just Abu Dhabi remains before Hamilton closes the book on his time as a Mercedes F1 driver.

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