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Lewis Hamilton can't be satisfied with the season behind him, considering that the experienced Englishman expected much more from 2024. The popular Hamilton finished seventh on the grid for the sprint race during the qualifying session in Qatar on Friday. Although he was dominant in F1 for years, Hamilton has failed to impose a rhythm in recent years. Many people ask what is the main reason for this, and it seems that the generally accepted opinion is that Mercedes can't create cars as powerful as they used to be.
However, many were surprised when Hamilton said after qualifying: "Who knows? I'm definitely not fast anymore."
The experienced driver showed his character when he admitted that the problem is not in the car, but rather that he is the main culprit, given that he is slow every weekend. Hamilton admits that the car has no problems. These words of the Mercedes driver surprised many.
"Same as every other qualifying, not that great," he said, as quoted by Motor Sport.
"I'm just slow and the same every weekend. So yeah, the car felt relatively decent. No, no issues, and not really much more to say."
The 39-year-old admitted that the long round didn't look so bad, but when week after week he's back again, then it's very difficult to fight for more promising results. Lewis was primarily thinking about winning. However, his mentality is such that giving up was never an option. Lewis is ready to do everything to correct the mistakes from qualifying.
Lewis Hamilton and his statements after Sao Paulo
After the race in Sao Paulo, the experienced Mercedes driver surprised the fans of this sport when he made interesting comments over the team radio. Namely, the experienced driver pointed out that this could be the last time he drives for Mercedes.
Although Mercedes executives tried to correct his statements, stressing that Lewis was referring to team members who will not be part of the three final races, Hamilton pointed out in a press conference that things are not quite like that.
The 39-year-old admitted that when he said that, he was completely honest. Lewis is frustrated with his performances week after week, and probably with the fact that he is not able to establish himself as a contender for the very top.
When you've been at the very top for years, leading the way, it's hard to get used to a situation where you have to look at the backs of maybe even worse drivers. However, Hamilton is aware that it is necessary to change some things, admitting that frustrations are the natural course of everything that happened.
From next season he will defend the colors of Ferrari, which will be a great chance for him to try to make a success. The German team, in recent years, could not offer Lewis what he wanted. Hamilton realized that it was time to say goodbye, choosing the Italian team as his next destination.
"I mean, in the moment that's how I felt, like I didn't really want to come back after that weekend," Hamilton said.
"But I think that's only natural. It's frustrating when you have a season like this, which I'm pretty sure I won't have again, or at least I'll work towards not having again."
The Englishman is not someone who wants to finish in a bad way with Mercedes, wanting to try to be significantly better in the last three races. Judging by what we have seen so far, Hamilton has equally bad performances. It must be acknowledged that Lewis has given a lot to this team, with whom he has had years of dominance. The F1 world is such that changes are an integral part of this sport, and now we are witnessing the dominance of Max Verstappen, once the main rival of Lewis Hamilton. The 39-year-old stresses that he will give his maximum, as he wants the parting to be positive.
"It wasn't a great feeling in that moment, but I'm here, I'm standing strong and I'm going to give it absolutely everything for these last few races."- Lewis Hamilton concluded.
A very important thing for Ferrari will be the fact that Hamilton revealed that he hasn't felt so great mentally for a long time, regardless of the difficult season. The experienced driver isn't too worried about the next step in his career, pointing out that he has been in this sport for years. He doesn't want to look back too much on the comments that come from week after week, considering that he has always been the target of critics. Lewis wants to have support in the next team. The Italian team can be happy with what kind of addition they'll have.
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