Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes would like nothing more than to end their 12 years together on a high. However, based on recent form, there is a very real risk that their time may finish not with a bang, but with a whimper.
If things continue like they did in Brazil last weekend, where Hamilton qualified 14th and finished 10th while team-mate George Russell started on the front row and fought for the win, then there will not be much to smile about when the curtain comes down in Abu Dhabi.
Hamilton’s own verdict after the Brazilian Grand Prix was pretty damning, as he labelled the race as “crap” on Sunday night.
He added: “Yesterday [Saturday] was terrible. Today [Sunday] was terrible. Yesterday was bad. Qualifying was bad. Sprint race was bad. The car’s just been bad all weekend.”
He further fuelled intrigue about the scale of the struggles enveloping him as he delivered a cryptic message over the radio straight after the chequered flag.
“That was a disaster of a weekend, guys,” he said on the cooldown lap. “That’s the worst the car has ever been. But thank you for contributing to try, and great job to all the guys at the pitstop.
“If this is the last time I get to perform it was a shame it wasn’t great – but grateful for you.”
Some interpreted those comments as a revelation that Brazil was going to be Hamilton’s last race, although that is certainly wide of the mark.
And, although it is not clear exactly what he was referring to, his remark about the pit crew was more likely a reference to the fact that some personnel were having their last race appearance of 2024 in Brazil due to the shuffling around of staff to cope with the intense schedule for triple headers.
The root of the problem
While the current performances on the track are not great, what is perhaps the biggest issue right now is that neither Mercedes nor Hamilton had an immediate answer after Brazil for what had gone wrong, despite there being some clear symptoms.
What is at play is a repeat of what he has been battling since the summer break, when his form took a big dip from that spell in July when he took two wins from three races.
Primarily, the problem appears to be about Hamilton having a lack of confidence in the car, especially its rear end.
As the above graph comparing the telemetry traces of Hamilton (blue) and Russell (red) in Q1 on Sunday morning shows clearly, there is a remarkable difference in the way the drivers were…
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