Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton’s disappointing start to the 2024 season, highlighted by Hamilton’s description of it as his worst ever, has raised questions about the underlying reasons. While upgrades have recently led to an improvement in performance, including a P3 finish last weekend, concerns remain regarding Hamilton’s driving style.Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton’s disappointing start to the 2024 season, highlighted by Hamilton’s description of it as his worst ever, has raised questions about the underlying reasons. While upgrades have recently led to an improvement in performance, including a P3 finish last weekend, concerns remain regarding Hamilton’s driving style. According to Auto Motor und Sport (AMuS), Hamilton’s aggressive driving, characterized by hard braking into corners and sudden acceleration out of them, has placed excessive demands on the tires. This has compromised his performance in qualifying and races, particularly with the introduction of more sensitive Pirelli tires in 2024. AMuS further suggests that Hamilton’s demands on the rear of the car have exacerbated his struggles. Despite Mercedes’ efforts to address high-speed cornering issues, the rear of the W15 is still lacking stability, limiting Hamilton’s options on track. Hamilton’s struggles have been compounded by the team’s failure to fully adapt to the ground effect rules introduced in 2022. While Mercedes appeared to be making progress in Canada and Spain, recent performances have suggested that the team’s problems are far from resolved. Hamilton’s P6 finish in the sprint session at the Austrian GP further highlights the challenges Mercedes faces. The team’s hopes now rest on finding solutions to these issues before Saturday’s Grand Prix qualifying. If they can address Hamilton’s driving style demands and improve the stability of the W15’s rear, he may be able to overcome his early-season struggles and return to his winning ways.
Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton started 2024 poorly, struggling to match the front-runners. However, upgrades have improved them, with Hamilton taking a P3 finish in Spain last weekend to open his podium run this season. The reason behind their previous struggles remains a topic of debate, however, and much of it has to do with the Briton’s driving style.
According to Auto Motor und Sport (AMuS), Hamilton’s aggressiveness while driving demanded too much from the tires. As a result, he was unable to perform optimally in qualifying and in the races.
| According to AMuS, Lewis Hamilton has a very aggressive driving style, braking very hard into corners and accelerating suddenly out of corners.
This makes it easier for the tire to come out of its operating window, especially since the 2024 tires are much more sensitive than before… photo.twitter.com/MVcbp0Zd8C
— F1_MercHub (@F1MercHub) June 28, 2024
The report states that Hamilton brakes too hard entering corners and pushes too quickly coming out. As such, the latest Pirelli tires could not match the Mercedes driver’s style or demand. AMuS further shows that current tires are much more sensitive than those previously used, which leads to degradation much faster.
Hamilton hasn’t won a race since 2021, and while he’s been consistent in points, that’s not what he’s in F1 for. He would hope to have his struggles a thing of the past by early 2024. However, there could be other factors contributing to his woes.
Why did Lewis Hamilton have his worst start to the season?
Earlier this season, Hamilton revealed that 2024 was his worst ever start to the season. He was easily outpaced by teammate George Russell, and while tire wear was an issue, Hamilton’s demands on the rear of the car were also an issue.
The more stable the rear of a car, the better a driver’s lap time will be. However, the British driver was limited in his options as he had to work under restrictions.
The rear of the W15 is not ideal and team boss Toto Wolff has spoken in the past about the problems in high-speed corners. During practice and sprint qualifying at the current Austrian GP weekend, Hamilton again struggled to keep his car within the track limits and he hopes Mercedes will fix the problem before Grand Prix qualifying on Saturday.
It’s safe to say that Mercedes, even in the third year of ground effect rules, haven’t quite cracked the code. Races in Canada and Spain gave the Silver Arrows confidence that they were on a steady path to recovery. However, the team’s struggles appear to be back, with Hamilton only managing P6 for Saturday’s Sprint session after a difficult qualifying session.
