Ferrari have insisted they are “not worried at all” about Lewis Hamilton’s slump in form and his alarming claim that he “definitely isn’t fast anymore”.
Hamilton, 39, unsuccessfully asked to be withdrawn from his penultimate appearance for Mercedes after he was penalised twice by the stewards and claimed his car was “broken” in Qatar on Sunday.
Hamilton continued to take the chequered flag in 12th – eight places behind George Russell in the other Silver Arrows.
Hamilton’s blockbuster move to Ferrari was announced on February 1 but team principal Fred Vasseur says the Italian team are confident the British driver’s dip will not carry into next year.
“Not at all,” said Vasseur when asked if he was concerned about Hamilton’s recent run of results. “Look at the 50 laps he did in Las Vegas where he started 10th and finished second, on the gearbox of Russell. I am not worried at all.”
Hamilton has been beaten by team-mate Russell in 23 of the 29 qualifying sessions staged this season and is set to finish behind his British compatriot in the championship when the season finished in Abu Dhabi on Sunday.
Since the summer break, Hamilton has outscored Russell in just two of the nine races staged. And after qualifying 0.399 seconds slower than Russell in qualifying for the sprint event in Lusail, Hamilton said he “definitely isn’t fast any more” – a remark he moved to clarify 24 hours later when he insisted he “still has it”.
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff, who has overseen Hamilton’s 12 seasons with the Silver Arrows, said: “When he took the decision at the beginning of the season (to join Ferrari) we knew it could be a bumpy year ahead, and that is very normal.
“He knows that he is going somewhere else, and we know that our future lies with (Hamilton’s replacement) Kimi Antonelli. So to go through the ups and downs and still manage to keep it together between us, that is something that we have achieved.
“You see those very bad races, and clearly he wears his heart on his sleeve. He expresses his emotions and that is absolutely allowed. That is OK.
“Nothing is going to take away 12 incredible years, with eight constructors’ titles and six drivers’ titles (for Hamilton).
“That is what will be in the memory, and after next Sunday we are going to look back at this great period of time, rather than a season, or races that were particularly bad. We will stay with the good memories.”
