Lewis Hamilton opens up on Saudi Arabian GP struggles with W15

Lewis Hamilton has admitted he is not “having fun” at the start of the F1 2024 season amid his muted performances with the new Mercedes W15 car.

After two winless seasons in 2023/23, Hamilton and Mercedes are hoping to return to front-running contention in 2024 with the new-look W15 ahead of the seven-time World Champion’s stunning switch to Ferrari next season.

Lewis Hamilton not ‘having fun’ with Mercedes W15
However, Hamilton has failed to finish in the top six so far this season with the 39-year-old lagging behind team-mate George Russell.

Having qualified ninth – more than two tenths behind Russell at the season opener in Bahrain – Hamilton could only recover to seventh as Mercedes suffered overheating issues after misjudging the conditions in Sakhir

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“It was just unfortunately really lacking performance in the high speed, where they were walking all over us.

“But there are positives. The car is good in low speed. We have to add a lot of load in the high speed.

“I think if we were able to do that then I think it puts us in the fight, but we’ve got some work to do.”

Hamilton’s comments come after David Coulthard, the former McLaren and Red Bull driver, claimed he is “mentally already at Ferrari” having looked “unsettled” on track with the W15 in 2024.

Appearing in his capacity as a Channel 4 pundit in Saudi Arabia, Coulthard said: “He’s just not been settled with this car.

“And you can tell, you know, George is just honing the lap time right now and you can feel that Lewis is on the backfoot.

“What we do know though, if he does find a window of performance, then you know he will deliver.

“But right now, it’s looking like his decision to head off to Ferrari, mentally, he is already there.”