Lewis Hamilton’s race engineer at Mercedes did not hide his disappointment at the race result by swearing over the radio as the Silver Arrows struggled at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix last weekend.
It was a weekend to forget for Hamilton. The seven-time champion, who won the dramatic and controversial inaugural race at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit last year, failed to build on his remarkable third-place finish that he nicked in the first race of the season in Bahrain.
Hamilton could only qualify in P16 as he was eliminated in the first round of qualifying for the first time since the 2017 Brazilian Grand Prix. His disappointment was compounded by the fact that teammate George Russell qualified in sixth.
The Brit struggled to get going in the race, opting for a different strategy as he drove on hard tyres for over 40 laps before a safety car derailed any hopes of a strong finish. Hamilton was sixth but the late pit stop dropped him to 12th before he finished P10.
Hamilton was clearly disappointed and wasn’t even sure if he had scored a point. On the radio, the 37-year-old said: “Another tough day in the office guys, but thank you so much for trying.”
Race engineer Peter Bonnington - affectionately known as 'Bono' - replied: “Yeah, hopefully not too many more s*** days, Lewis. Okay Lewis, that's P10. Sorry about that.”
To which perennial champion Hamilton responded: “Is there even a point for that position?”
The sole point takes Hamilton to fifth in the Drivers’ Standings, behind teammate Russell, world champion Max Verstappen, Carlos Sainz and leader Charles Leclerc of Ferrari. The Australian Grand Prix is set to be absolutely crucial for Hamilton’s quest to secure the elusive eighth world championship, which would take him clear of Michael Schumacher with the most in F1 history.
Another below-par performance in Melbourne will see the Brit slip down the table - and his title hopes could move further out of reach. Mercedes boss Toto Wolff conceded his team are struggling but has hope the octuple world champions can turn around their season.
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“We were right in the middle of those fun games at the front for eight years,” Wolff told Sky Sports. “It's extremely painful to not be part of those games by quite a chunk of lap-time deficit. It's no fun at all.
“It's an exercise in humility and it's going to make us stronger in the end, even though it's not fun right now.”
Mercedes are set to deliver upgrades to their car by the next race, with rumours that some parts have been accelerated due to their poor start. The 22-race 2022 campaign - which is expected to return to 23 races in the near future once a Russian Grand Prix replacement is found - continues with the Australian Grand Prix on April 10.
