Mercedes admit Lewis Hamilton gamble 'massively backfired'

Lewis Hamilton struggled with the handling of his Mercedes during free practice for the 2024 Australian Grand Prix.

The British driver had also struggled to keep his car on the tarmac on occasion, with several wayward moments in second practice as he radioed in to say he felt that something was wrong after enquiring about the lap times being achieved by other drivers. “In the second session, I think we’ve gone through a quite dramatic setup change for Lewis. And that has massively backfired.With George Russell finishing sixth and almost a full second ahead, Wolff said the single-lap pace of the W15 isn’t looking particularly strong overall.

While the W15 has earned the praise of the drivers far more than its two predecessors, the performance level is extemely similar – but Wolff said he believes there is far more potential to be unlocked once the setup is nailed down. “But, we’ve got to keep trying. We’ve seen performance in this car before, I just don’t want to go back and say ‘We’re just not good at these regulations’ because we have everything we need in order to get on top of that. And we will.”

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