Lewis Hamilton

Hamilton's weekend in Imola was a microcosm of a troublesome season. On Saturday, after finishing 14th in the Sprint qualifying race, Hamilton was stoic about ...

“You see the bouncing on the main straight, I wonder how the two of them can even keep the car on the track at times,” said Wolff. “I think the fundamental issue which overshadows anything is our car is porpoising more than others. “I am out of the championship, for sure, there’s no question about that,” said Hamilton after the race. It was in stark contrast to George Russell’s excellent performance. It’s just going to take longer, it’s going to take a painful year. As did that car, we fixed it eventually and got back in the fight, or in the game. He finished fifth in the standings that year.

The Brit was already handicapped by having to start from 14th but after gaining three places in the early round of the race, dropped back to his original ...

We just need to understand more and bring development to the car and fix the bouncing.' 'We are going to look at things for Miami, we can make a step in the understanding of the car. This was a terrible race.'

Seven-time world champion is lapped by Max Verstappen, prompting a remarkable admission on the team radio.

And Lewis was just stuck in the back.” “Both drivers are doing the utmost and out-performing the car. There's no-one that's giving up and everyone is just trying to move forward as fast as they can,” Hamilton said.

The seven-time world champion finished 13th in the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, nine places behind team-mate George Russell.

It is the low of the car performance. But in the same car, Russell was fourth. “I know this is undrivable.” Verstappen’s win – his second of the season – has breathed new life into this year’s championship battle. Hamilton elected to stop too late. Sergio Perez was second as Red Bull secured their first one-two finish in six years, while Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc came home sixth after he spun from third with just nine laps to run.

Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff made an extraordinary public apology to a crestfallen Lewis Hamilton, describing his car as “undriveable” and unworthy for a ...

“But I expect him to come back so strong. “I just wasn’t fast enough to overtake and I don’t really know why. “I think it’s just how things fall out sometimes in a race weekend. There’s no one that’s giving up and everyone’s just trying to move it forward as fast as they can.” “It’s definitely not easy and we all feel it as a team. “I am sorry for what you had to drive today.

A disconsolate Lewis Hamilton reckons he is “out of the championship” fight after an underwhelming drive to 13th in the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix at Imola.

I will be at the factory tomorrow to see what we can improve.” On the radio after the race, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff said: “Sorry for what you have had to drive today. When asked if the result could have been better had he pitted earlier for dry weather tyres, Hamilton replied: “I really don’t know to be honest.

After being beaten comfortably, Nico Rosberg believes Lewis Hamilton will never want a repeat of that disparity against George Russell.

That is going to be really, really important to him. There is always going to be that thing of wanting to beat your team-mate. “It’s understandable.

Follow all the latest news and reaction after Max Verstappen's win over Charles Leclerc in Imola as Mercedes continue to suffer.

I guess fourth was still going to be an amazing position, amazing result for us and better than we were expecting coming into the race and into the weekend for sure.” Yes, as I said, the start wasn’t great; we will analyse why but it was still a long race ahead and for some reason, I was the unlucky guy that for someone’s mistake, I had to pay. “It’s tough, I’m not happy, and it’s tough to go through it, especially in a home race like this with all the tifosi, getting the support from them, wanting to do a good race for them. From where we were in race one to now scoring a podium, they all deserve it, so top job to the team. “I think that is part of our job, and it’s part of their job trying to drive to the limit. But, because we believed that there was no opportunity for us to attack and overtake Perez with those tyres any more, we did the pitstop. “I think with this year’s cars, obviously, the cars on the kerbs are a lot more stiffer and somehow, if you make a small mistake, you’re paying for it quite a lot. All but one of the tracks scheduled to host a grand prix in 2022 have done so far before. Meanwhile, Hamilton has ruled himself out of the title race, with the gap now 31 points to Verstappen in second and 58 points behind leader Leclerc. Both Max and Checo [Perez] have driven brilliantly this weekend and that one-two finish, all credit to the team. And the Belgian-Dutch driver has taken aim at Mercedes, insisting that it meant little to lap his 2021 title rival after their issues all season. Sergio Perez finished second to seal a Red Bull one-two, but only after Leclerc made a late pit stop for soft tyres in an attempt to catch him.

Lewis Hamilton has said his 2022 title hopes are over, after he posted a disappointing 13th-placed finish at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix on Sunday.

He attributed Mercedes' poor performance on Sunday to porpoising, saying, "Because of the bouncing, we are not able to run it where it should run. But it's just what we have to do get the fastest lap times out of the car." "Sorry for what you have had to drive today. "I'm out of the championship, for sure," Hamilton said post-race. "The bouncing really takes your breath away. "At least, George got some points for the team today.

While Jeddah proved disastrous for Lewis Hamilton, at least he was able to score a point. The same can't be said for Sunday's Formula 1 race in Imola.

And let’s not forget the fact that Russell finished Sunday’s race in fourth place, nine positions ahead of Hamilton, to score 12 points for team. But even then, he had started the race on the front row. Even then, he had qualified in fifth. Fortunately, there was one point awarded for his efforts in the race after he had qualified in a dreadful 16th. Hamilton also failed to score any points in the sprint qualifying race, so he ended up leaving the weekend with zero points. But that only happened after a mistake on a late standing restart, when he appeared poised to take the lead from Red Bull’s Sergio Perez.

Nico Rosberg believes former rival Lewis Hamilton may find it "difficult to keep his motivation up" this season and has accused Mercedes of not telling the ...

"That's a very important sign for George to get going right in the beginning in this relationship because it sets precedent. Especially in the engineering room where Lewis is going to be pushing harder and harder, so it will be interesting to see how it unfolds." "[Hamilton and Russell] are not on that at the moment, it's much more easy going I think. With George performing so well, that could be the biggest motivator for Lewis to just keep going and keep fighting." "Of course there were some very difficult situations but everything culminated in winning the championship. "It is a long season but they're nowhere with that car; they're not even going to be able to fight for race wins any time soon. But Rosberg believes he twisting the truth to protect his star driver, given team-mate Russell finished fourth and nine places higher in the same car. "The tension's rising, and that's natural, and Lewis will obviously start to show those emotions a little bit. "Let's not forget also, Lewis hates ending up behind his team-mate. Lifting him up and saying that it wasn't Lewis' doing, it's on us. "You can see how the tension is rising. Hamilton was understandably frustrated after Sunday's race, where he reiterated his championship hopes were over.

The seven-time world champion has suddenly found himself scrapping for minor places in the midfield and is even being outdriven by his team-mate.

Mercedes are almost in desperation mode when it comes to finding answers to their problems, and have often been running divergent set-ups on the two cars in order to fact-find as effectively as possible. But nevertheless the frustrations will start to fray the team’s internal politics. Those two results aside, he has finished third and fourth in races where Russell finished fourth and third respectively. On their return to Imola, there was another moment that will live long in the memory of both drivers, albeit a very different one. Russell too though is battling the car just as much as Hamilton is. It was a seminal moment that sent Mercedes and Hamilton a message about the nature of this battle.

Hamilton finished 13th, struggled to overtake Pierre Gasly, and was even lapped by rival Max Verstappen. Former F1 champ Nico Rosberg, commentating for Sky ...

So I'm very conscious about the conflict of interest between the two of them, between the team and the driver." "I've learned on the job with the most difficult relationship, between Nico Rosberg and Lewis, and then an easier one between Valtteri [Bottas] and Lewis," Wolff told Insider. "But these are racing drivers that want to win, that have learned from a very early age of — whatever it is — five or six years that you are out there for yourself, you're alone in the go kart, it's raining, you're scared. Hamilton and Rosberg were teammates with Mercedes from 2013 to 2016. So Lewis definitely had a big role to play in that poor result this weekend. He also struggled to overtake AlphaTauri's Pierre Gasly, which would have been unheard of in recent years, and was even lapped by his rival, Max Verstappen. That is going to be painful, and I think for Max, he's going to have a little smile in his helmet when he goes by."

Lewis Hamilton's struggles this season have opened the door for rivals to make light of the star's situation.

We live and we learn, and there’s not much else to say. I will be at the factory tomorrow to see what we can improve. “Only time will tell how much of a step they did but for sure they seem to be more competitive than the first three races, or similar to Jeddah,” Leclerc said. Just how much it has paid off will have to be seen, especially with Ferrari set to bring in upgrades of their own. “I was too greedy and I paid the price for it and lost seven potential points,” Leclerc said. Verstappen had two DNFs in the opening three races, while Pérez also failed to finish the season opener.

As Max Verstappen claimed his second victory of the season at the Emilia Romagna, Hamilton - the seven-time champion - finished an unflattering 13th as he ...

So, it’s difficult for Lewis to keep his motivation up. That’s really, really important to him. “With George performing so well, that could be the biggest motivator for Lewis to just keep going and keep fighting.” “We can fix this. It is going to be a painful year that we are going to have to ride out together.” “It is a long season but they’re nowhere with that car; they’re not even going to be able to fight for race wins any time soon.

The rival F1 team couldn't resist a dig at Mercedes' seven-time world champion.

You can select 'Manage settings' for more information and to manage your choices. You can change your choices at any time by visiting Your Privacy Controls. Find out more about how we use your information in our Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy. Click here to find out more about our partners. - Information about your device and internet connection, including your IP address