Lewis Hamilton and Toto Wolff disconsolate after grim day for Mercedes in Bahrain - 'One of our worst days'
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Updated 05/03/2023 at 22:31 GMT
If the first F1 race of the season in Bahrain was anything to go by, then 2023 seems set to be another nightmarish year for Mercedes. Looks were deceiving as Lewis Hamilton finished fifth, but he was unable to compete with Red Bull, Ferrari or Aston Martin, and said he only ended where he did due to Charles Leclerc's retirement. Mercedes boss Toto Wolff called it "one of our worst days in racing".
'It looked a bit lonely out there...' - Verstappen after Bahrain GP win
Lewis Hamilton and Toto Wolff cut disconsolate figures after a grim day for Mercedes at the Bahrain GP that showcased their lack of competitiveness on the F1 grid.
After a difficult 2022 in which Mercedes struggled badly with a bouncing car, hopes had been high for something of a rebirth as the teams assembled in the Gulf.
But the early noises were not all that promising, and those fears seemed well-founded on race day as Hamilton finished fifth, while team-mate George Russell trailed in seventh, some distance behind race winner, Red Bull's Max Verstappen, who looks set to dominate the sport again in 2023.
And there was no sugar-coating afterwards - from Wolff or the drivers - about their current malaise.
"That was one of our worst days in racing," Wolff, who has admitted his team need to change course, said.
"It was not good at all; we are lacking pace front, right, and centre.
"The Aston Martins are very fast, and the Red Bull is just on a different planet.
"It hurts that they are so far ahead; it reminds me of our best years where we put one second on everyone else.
"That is the benchmark. We need to put one foot in front of the other to come back but nobody in this team will throw in the towel.
"We need to dig deep, deeper than we ever have done before. And we can do that."
Hamilton, similarly downbeat, said: "The Ferraris were just quicker than us today, we were the fourth-fastest team.
"It was close for a second [with Ferrari's Carlos Sainz] and then [I] just couldn’t hold on to him, he just kept pulling away, so [I] did the best I could.”
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Max Verstappen of the Netherlands driving the (1) Oracle Red Bull Racing RB19 and Charles Leclerc of Monaco driving the (16) Ferrari SF-23 battle for track position ahead of the field at the start during the F1 Grand Prix of Bahrain.
Image credit: Getty Images
And responding to a suggestion he wasn't that far off the podium, finishing 12 seconds behind third-placed Fernando Alonso, Hamilton countered: "No, we’re miles off.
"There was a Ferrari [Charles Leclerc, who retired with technical problems] that would have been ahead of him [Alonso], so we would have really been sixth, a podium was nowhere near.”
Russell, who had an even less successful afternoon in Bahrain, seemed to rule out any chance of competing with Red Bull, even later in the season.
"Red Bull have got this championship sewn up," the 25-year-old Brit said. "I don't think anyone will be fighting with them this year. They should win every single race this year, is my bet.
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Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain driving the (44) Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team W14 leads George Russell of Great Britain driving the (63) Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team W14 during the F1 Grand Prix of Bahrain at Bahrain International Circuit on March 05.
Image credit: Getty Images
"They've got it easy at the moment. They can do what they like.
"They might not be on pole all the time because we know Ferrari are very competitive in qualifying but when it comes to race pace they're in a very strong position."
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