Lewis Hamilton sparks concern with “not excited about racing” admission
Lewis Hamilton still has two-thirds of a full Formula 1 season to go with Mercedes before he can complete his planned Ferrari move and embark on a new racing adventure
Lewis Hamilton admitted he is not looking forward to his next outing in the Mercedes W15 after his latest underwhelming result.
For so many years, Hamilton was used to race wins and podiums by the bucket load. But these days such successes are very difficult to come by with his Mercedes team well off the pace and only the fourth quickest team on the Formula 1 grid.
And it was more of the same in Sunday’s Monaco Grand Prix. The Briton qualified seventh on the grid and that was where he stayed throughout the race, with overtaking non-existent on the tight Monte Carlo streets.
Team-mate George Russell was two places ahead in fifth and was delighted with how the weekend had gone. But Hamilton was less enthusiastic and, though he was pleased to see Mercedes make more progress on upgrades, didn’t feel there was much else to shout about.
He said: “I wouldn’t say that it was encouraging. I think the signs of performance this weekend have been encouraging and that’s three races in a row we’ve brought upgrades. That’s really positive to see, bit by bit we’ve got drips coming through and hopefully in the next race I’ll have the front wing too.”
The next race is in Montreal where Hamilton has has plenty of success in the past. He has won the Canadian Grand Prix a record-equalling seven times in the past but is unlikely to be in the frame for another victory this time – and clearly he knows it.
Asked about his trip to Quebec, Hamilton replied: “I’m excited to go to Canada – I wouldn’t say I’m excited about the prospect of racing there. I don’t see a lot of different… I’ll go to Canada and as always give my absolute everything, and it’s good to see the team are bringing performance.”