Hamilton: I need to be a "positive light" for Mercedes in F1

Lewis Hamilton says he has to be a “positive light” for his Mercedes Formula 1 team after a difficult opening race of the 2023 season in Bahrain.

Hamilton: I need to be a "positive light" for Mercedes in F1

Hamilton started the race in seventh place and finished it in fifth after passing team-mate George Russell and benefitting from the retirement of Ferrari's Charles Leclerc.

However, he was powerless to hold off the Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso, who had a bad start and eventually recovered to finish third.

Asked if he was concerned that the team hasn’t made much progress since last season, Hamilton insisted that his role is to keep the team motivated.

“Concerned wouldn’t be the word,” he said.

“There is nothing I can say, I don’t want to say too much. We’ve just got to keep working.

“We know we are not where we need to be, and we know that this isn’t the right car. It is a difficult one.

“But I’ve just got to try and stay positive, keep my head up and keep pushing the guys.

“Keep trying to be a positive light for them and get the best points I can.”

Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes-AMG

Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes-AMG

Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images

Hamilton dismissed the suggestion that he was closer to the podium than he expected to be after qualifying.

“We were miles away,” he said.

“There was a Ferrari that would’ve been ahead of him [third-placed Alonso], so we would’ve really been sixth. So a podium was nowhere near.”

Mercedes had strong race pace for much of the 2022 season, although the Bahrain opener saw the team struggle with tyre degradation. That pattern was repeated in Sunday’s event.

PLUS: The critical Red Bull tyre tactic Ferrari couldn't copy in Bahrain GP

“It generally felt the same as last year,” said Hamilton. “When we did the strategy in the morning I told the guys it wasn’t going to go as far as they said it was going to go, and it didn’t.

“We have just got a lot of work to do. We have just got to add downforce to the car, we’re lacking a lot of downforce.

Read Also:

“That is really where the time will come. As soon as we put more load on the rear and the front we’ll pick up that pace.”

Regarding the battle with Alonso, he said: “It was fun for a moment. He was in a different league at the time, performance-wise, as you saw, because he pulled away so much.

Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes F1 W14, George Russell, Mercedes F1 W14

Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes F1 W14, George Russell, Mercedes F1 W14

Photo by: Steve Etherington / Motorsport Images

“But I enjoyed the little tussle that we had, and I knew he was going to come by, because of the way he caught me.”

He added: “Big congrats to Fernando today. He did a great job and it is really amazing to see, and to all the Aston Martin team, they did such a good job.

“We’ve got work to do, because half of their car is ours, and they built their car in our wind tunnel, they do their aero in our wind tunnel, so we’ve got some work to do.”

shares
comments

Related video

Bahrain Grand Prix Driver Ratings 2023

What triggered Ocon's bizarre F1 penalty triple whammy

What Perez's Jeddah joy means for F1’s 2023 hopes for a real title fight

What Perez's Jeddah joy means for F1’s 2023 hopes for a real title fight

Plus
Plus
Formula 1
Saudi Arabian GP
Alex Kalinauckas

What Perez's Jeddah joy means for F1’s 2023 hopes for a real title fight What Perez's Jeddah joy means for F1’s 2023 hopes for a real title fight

Saudi Arabian Grand Prix Driver Ratings 2023

Saudi Arabian Grand Prix Driver Ratings 2023

Plus
Plus
Formula 1
Saudi Arabian GP
Alex Kalinauckas

Saudi Arabian Grand Prix Driver Ratings 2023 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix Driver Ratings 2023

How Perez kept Verstappen’s Saudi Arabian GP surge at bay

How Perez kept Verstappen’s Saudi Arabian GP surge at bay

Plus
Plus
Formula 1
Saudi Arabian GP
Jake Boxall-Legge

How Perez kept Verstappen’s Saudi Arabian GP surge at bay How Perez kept Verstappen’s Saudi Arabian GP surge at bay

The enormous job facing F1 for its Vegas gamble to pay off

The enormous job facing F1 for its Vegas gamble to pay off

Plus
Plus
Formula 1
Las Vegas GP
GP Racing

The enormous job facing F1 for its Vegas gamble to pay off The enormous job facing F1 for its Vegas gamble to pay off

Testing times for Vasseur, but the true challenge at Ferrari is about to come

Testing times for Vasseur, but the true challenge at Ferrari is about to come

Plus
Plus
Formula 1
Saudi Arabian GP
Jonathan Noble

Testing times for Vasseur, but the true challenge at Ferrari is about to come Testing times for Vasseur, but the true challenge at Ferrari is about to come

How the F1 driver expression saga continues to have a Lineker-like problem

How the F1 driver expression saga continues to have a Lineker-like problem

Plus
Plus
Formula 1
Saudi Arabian GP
Alex Kalinauckas

How the F1 driver expression saga continues to have a Lineker-like problem How the F1 driver expression saga continues to have a Lineker-like problem

Why a Mercedes U-turn couldn't deny Sauber's F1 debut surprise

Why a Mercedes U-turn couldn't deny Sauber's F1 debut surprise

Plus
Plus
Formula 1
Adam Cooper

Why a Mercedes U-turn couldn't deny Sauber's F1 debut surprise Why a Mercedes U-turn couldn't deny Sauber's F1 debut surprise

Why Mercedes is fronting up to its F1 mistakes too much

Why Mercedes is fronting up to its F1 mistakes too much

Plus
Plus
Formula 1
Saudi Arabian GP
Jake Boxall-Legge

Why Mercedes is fronting up to its F1 mistakes too much Why Mercedes is fronting up to its F1 mistakes too much