Sir Lewis Hamilton believes the Mercedes car was not to blame in a disappointing display at the Austrian Grand Prix on Sunday but rather a lack of performance.
The seven-time world champion started the race in fifth but dropped to seventh as he was initially beaten by the McLaren of Lando Norris and the Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso, both running on Mercedes engines while finishing ahead of teammate George Russell.
It was a setback for the German manufacturer after Hamilton recorded back-to-back podiums at the Spanish Grand Prix and Canadian Grand Prix since introducing new upgrades at the Monaco Grand Prix.
“There wasn’t a problem,” Hamilton said after the race. “There was nothing wrong with the car. The car was fine.”
A bruising day in Spielberg but we have a chance to make it right in a few days at Silverstone. pic.twitter.com/dfJzPdRvb2
— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) July 2, 2023
Hamilton eventually dropped one place down to eighth after he was handed a five-second time penalty for going off track limits along with seven other drivers.
This meant Russell was seventh in the overall classification while Norris was promoted to fourth and Carlos Sainz Jr. of Ferrari demoted to sixth. Hamilton was stunned by Norris’ pace in the upgraded McLaren and thinks Mercedes still have a lot of work to do to catch up with the frontrunners.
“McLaren and Lando did a great job today, McLaren were super quick,” the 38-year-old.
“Wasn’t expecting them to be as fast as they were but we weren’t expecting to be as slow as we were either.
“This track just highlighted some areas for us to work on. Not the greatest of days.
“The way the car felt doesn’t surprise me.”
Hamilton remains fourth in the driversʼ championship behind Max Verstappen, Sergio Perez and Fernando Alonso.
The next event will be Hamilton’s home race at the British Grand Prix this weekend where he is a record eight-time champion.
