Lewis Hamilton has apologized to his Mercedes team for his disappointing performance at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, where his teammate George Russell finished fourth.
Hamilton spent his afternoon at Imola in the heart of F1’s midfield from the start, unable to make any progress and finishing P13, but Russell made the most of his car’s capabilities and the circumstances to finish fourth.
During his cool-down lap, Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff apologized to the seven-time world champion for providing him a “undriveable” car.
“It’s been difficult and it’s definitely not easy, but we all feel it as a team,” said Hamilton after the race.
“And at least George [Russell] got some points today for the team. So apologies to everyone that I wasn’t able to do so.”
The Mercedes team remains optimistic about the W13’s potential, with crews working hard to resolve the porpoising and downforce concerns that have hampered the Silver Arrow’s performance thus far.
While frustration sets in, Hamilton insists that the team is in the trenches, doing everything it can to tackle the team’s problems.
“I think the team is… as I said, everyone is feeling it and everyone is head down, trying their best,” he said. “I’ve definitely had lower moments, so it’s not the lowest, for sure.
“So there’s no one that’s giving up and everyone is just trying to move forward as fast as they can.”
Hamilton was trapped in a DRS train in Sunday’s race, and despite his best attempts, he was unable to free himself.
“I really found it frustrating and I just wanted to move forwards,” he added.
“I just wasn’t close enough to overtake. I was just a bit of a sitting duck today.”
The next round of Formula 1 racing which will be the inaugural Miami Grand Prix, will present its own set of problems, and Hamilton is sceptical that Mercedes will experience a dramatic change of fortunes in Florida.
“I can’t say that I’m particularly looking forward to it at the moment, but I’m sure during the week I’ll get to a positive frame of mind.”
“I’ll be at the factory tomorrow to work with the guys to see what we can improve.”
