Lewis Hamilton would have been hoping for so much more during his final Formula 1 season with Mercedes.
He was left frustrated during the Monaco Grand Prix as he came home in 7 place and was beaten by teammate George Russell once again.
Speaking on the F1 Nation Podcast, journalist Diego Mejia has shared that the seven-time world champion was really annoyed about during Sunday’s race.
Mercedes only brought one new front wing to the race and Lewis Hamilton allowed his teammate to use the part which may have explained why Russell set a marginally faster qualifying time and therefore had track position during the race.
However, Hamilton was upset with the strategy Mercedes decided to implement before the beginning of the Grand Prix in Monaco.
The 39-year-old had a prediction before the race that it might him and the team vulnerable and that’s exactly what happened.
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Lewis Hamilton was left upset by Mercedes’s strategy during the Monaco Grand Prix
After finishing as runners-up to Red Bull in the 2023 Constructors’ Championship last year, Toto Wolff’s team have shown this year that they still don’t fully understand the current rule set.
Ferrari and McLaren have taken big strides forward and appear to be challenging Red Bull for victories at every race.
This has left Mercedes in no man’s land in fourth, with the likes of Aston Martin and RB unable to compete with them.
However, the unique Monaco track levelled the playing field and Hamilton may be upset that he couldn’t take full advantage with his teammate qualifying ahead of Max Verstappen while he had to settle for a place on the fourth row of the grid behind the Dutchman.
He benefitted from Yuki Tsunoda deciding to take his pace management tactics to the extreme, giving him plenty of time to execute a free pit stop.
Hamilton was furious that he wasn’t told his out lap was critical and Verstappen came out in front of him when he mimicked his tactics.
Unfortunately, Hamilton foresaw all of these problems coming but that won’t be any consolation for him after he managed to add just six more points to his tally.
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Lewis Hamilton loses ‘very zen’ feeling after Monaco Grand Prix frustration
Talking about Hamilton’s race in Monaco, Mejia said: “I asked him [Lewis Hamilton] on Saturday whether the front wing was making any difference and he said it did.
“So, I tend to think more that it was meant to be for George [Russell].
“Maybe I’m wrong, but from what Lewis said that was the impression [I got].
“And then in the race, we heard Lewis on the radio saying that, ‘I told you’, you could see that he was not a friend of starting on the hard tyres because if this happened, a red flag on the lap one, they were going to be forced to run a medium for the whole race basically, for 77 laps which is what George did in the end.
“So, I think Lewis has been in a very zen mode. It’s been a joy to speak to Lewis this year because although he’s not getting any podiums or victories or pole positions, he’d been quite relaxed, looking at the bright side always.
“He’s been in that mood up until this weekend. To me, it’s clear that… he’s a little less zen this weekend.”
Mercedes already preferring George Russell over Lewis Hamilton
George Russell admitted after the race that he was prepared to do a coin flip with Hamilton over who got the new front wing.
However, Hamilton allowed his teammate to use the part which helped deliver a positive weekend for the manufacturer.
Russell is now 12 points clear of his teammate in the Drivers’ Championship and eventually Mercedes will reach a point where they begin to exclude Hamilton from discussions about the future ahead of his move to Ferrari.
Mercedes still haven’t made a move in the driver’s market to hire his replacement and Wolff appears to have whittled down the shortlist to two drivers: Max Verstappen and Kimi Antonelli.
The Dutchman looks more and more likely to stay at Red Bull until at least the end of 2025.
Antonelli has been impressing behind the scenes and even George Russell’s times in testing have been challenged by the teenager if the Italian media are to be believed.
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