Lewis Hamilton has told Mercedes to solve a problem he faced during first practice at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
Hamilton finished eighth fastest in the opening session at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, a shade under six tenths behind pacesetter Max Verstappen.
And early in the session, he informed his team that there was a key issue they needed to address.
The British driver endured a disappointing start to the new season at the Bahrain Grand Prix, with George Russell beating him both qualifying and the race.
He lined up ninth on the grid, six spots down on his teammate, and could only to progress to seventh on Saturday as Russell picked up 10 points in fifth.
And he was the slower Mercedes as the running got underway on Thursday, with Russell placing fourth between Sergio Perez and the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc.
Lewis Hamilton says Mercedes must fix bouncing in Saudi Arabia
Just over 15 minutes into the session on Thursday, Hamilton reported that he was suffering with bouncing at the rear of his W15.
He told the team that it needed to be addressed heading into the rest of the weekend.
Speaking on the team radio, Hamilton said: “You’ve got to fix the rear bouncing, mate.”
Mercedes hope new rear wing works in Jeddah
Mercedes had to deal with issues during the race in Bahrain, with both drivers instructed to lift and coast more than usual to manage overheating.
Sky Sports F1 commentator David Croft fears that those issues could be more prominent in Jeddah, where temperatures are expected to be significantly higher.
In a bid to improve upon their performance in Sakhir, Mercedes have introduced a new rear wing for this weekend.
It’s a lower-downforce configuration that the team hope will be better suited to one of the fastest circuits on the 2024 calendar.
The post 'Got to fix': Lewis Hamilton tells Mercedes to solve problem he's already dealing with in Saudi Arabia appeared first on F1 Oversteer.