Lewis Hamilton: Mercedes team is facing 'much, much bigger problems' this season as car struggles

Lewis Hamilton said that Mercedes were facing ‘much, much bigger’ problems than they had experienced before. While Hamiton was agonisingly close to winning the world championship last season before losing out to Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, the start of the 2022 campaign has seen the German team trailing in testing, and now the Free Practice sessions in Bahrain ahead of Sunday’s season-opening Grand Prix. Ad/> Speaking to Sky Sports after the second session concluded, Hamilton said he had not been paying too much attention to teammate George Russell’s setup.

Bahrain Grand PrixVerstappen sets fastest time in FP2, Hamilton struggles3 HOURS AGO “Are the setups different? I don’t know,” he answered. “I’ve not been looking at George’s car. We were trialling different things but I've not been following what he’s been doing.

“I’ve been trying to focus on the problems I have on my side.” Hamilton said that pre-season difficulties in the past were dwarfed by the current struggles, which include porpoisng. Verstappen sets fastest time in FP2, Hamilton struggles 'I can't do everything' — Hamilton responds to Bahrain human rights abuses Verstappen claims 'I dont think we need a full report' over 2021 season controversy “We’ve had small problems in the past, relatively compared to this year,” he said. “We had much smaller problems.

We’ve got much, much bigger problems this year. /> “Everything we do to try to fix it doesn't change that. It appears that it’s going to be a more longer term fix, nothing in the short term.” Formula 1'I can't change the past' — Hamilton carrying no 'baggage' after dramatic title loss6 HOURS AGO Bahrain Grand PrixFIA change F1 safety car rule in bid to avoid repeat of Abu Dhabi chaos16/03/2022 AT 09:31