Lewis Hamilton said there was no way he could compete with his rivals through Jeddah’s fastest corners in today’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
The Mercedes driver finished ninth, one place lower than he qualified. He said the W15 was no match for the likes of Red Bull, Ferrari and McLaren on the fastest parts of the Jeddah Corniche Circuit.
“The car is relatively good in the low-speed and not so bad in the medium,” he told Sky after the race. “But in the high-speed we are miles off.
“It was like I was in a different category when I was going through the high-speed between the other people, the other guys around me.”
Mercedes went into the new season hoping to rebound from two disappointing years using an extensively revised car. But Hamilton said some of the problems he is experiencing feel familiar and he isn’t convinced the team has gone far enough with its latest design.
“It’s frustrating, for sure, to be three years in a row in almost the same position. It’s definitely tough.
“I know we’ll get our heads down and we’ll keep working away. I know everyone back at the factory is pushing as hard as they can. But we’ve definitely got to make some big changes.
“We haven’t made big enough changes, perhaps. You look at the three teams ahead of us, they still have different concepts to where we are in some areas. So we’ve got some performance to add, that’s for sure.”
Hamilton briefly ran as high as third when the team opted not to bring him into the pits during an early Safety Car period. Although the tactics did not pay off, he defended Mercedes’ call.
“I think it was worth trying something different. Splitting the cars and trying different strategies and ultimately that’s always the goal, to do something a little bit different, particularly when we’re in the position we’re in.
“I was fighting as hard as I could to go long, and I was hoping for a Safety Car or something, but it was just unfortunate that nothing came out.”
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2024 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix
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