Lewis Hamilton suffered a convincing defeat at the hands of his teammate George Russell in the first two races of the season. The seven-time world champion is now calling for updates to be made to the Mercedes W15 after disappointing performances in the Bahrain GP and the Saudi Arabia GP, where he finished 7th and 9th, respectively. Hamilton believes significant changes are needed for the W15 to improve its performance in areas of average speed.
The W15 is currently not competitive enough compared to its rivals in certain aspects. Hamilton, who lagged behind his teammate in the qualifying of both races, is particularly struggling in the 2024 season. He has been vocal about the issues with the car and both drivers are calling for changes. It remains to be seen when Mercedes will introduce its first update of the season.
This season marks Hamilton’s final year with Mercedes, and he has not secured a victory since 2021. He hoped for a strong farewell season, but it seems that Red Bull and Ferrari are too strong for Mercedes to catch up. The Saudi Arabia GP was a particularly tough race for Mercedes, with George Russell noting that the car lacked pace compared to its rivals, resulting in significant time losses in high-speed corners.
Hamilton also faced similar issues throughout the race, struggling to keep up with McLaren and other competitors in medium-speed corners. Toto Wolff acknowledged that it was not a good day for the team and highlighted the similarities between the Melbourne GP and the Saudi Arabia GP, emphasizing the need for extensive work in preparation for future races.
