‘Didn’t listen’: Lewis Hamilton slams Mercedes for development approach

Lewis Hamilton has lashed out at Mercedes after a dire Bahrain Grand Prix that signalled another year of Red Bull dominance, claiming the team “didn’t listen” to his advice during the development of the car.

The seven-time world champion was upbeat after his seventh-place finish in Sakhir, saying “I enjoyed it because I wasn’t bouncing,” referring to the porpoising issues that plagued the Mercedes W13 during 2022.

“My brain was intact, my teeth are still in my mouth, don’t have any pain in my back,” Hamilton said.

Teammate George Russell is already predicting Red Bull will win every race this season, and Hamilton criticised Mercedes for not taking his feedback on board about the car.

“I don’t know how we’re going to turn it around,” Hamilton told BBC Radio 5 Live’s Chequered Flag podcast.

“Last year, there were things I told them.

“I said the issues that are with the car.”

“I’ve driven so many cars in my life.

“I know what a car needs.

“I know what a car doesn’t need.

“I think it’s really about accountability.

“It’s about owning up and saying, ‘Yeah, you know what? We didn’t listen to you. It's not where it needs to be and we’ve got to work’.

“We’ve got to look into the balance through the corners, look at all the weak points, and just huddle up as a team.”

The W14 has been slammed consistently by Hamilton early in the season, with the chassis design not producing enough downforce after the team struggled with porpoising throughout last season.

“We were miles away,” he said.

“A podium was nowhere near.

“It generally felt the same as last year.

“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.”

Aston Martin have emerged as a clear contender to take Mercedes’ place as the third constructor, despite being a Mercedes engine customer, which is sure to concern Hamilton.

Across 311 Grand Prix starts, Hamilton has always been in a Mercedes powered vehicle, with McLaren serving as the Mercedes works team from 1995 to 2009, and then as a customer team from 2010 before Hamilton moved to the factory Mercedes team in 2012.

The likelihood of him leaving owing to the state of the car is low, but Mercedes across their dominant era built a reputation on keeping dissent under wraps.

Hamilton’s complaints about the car will sting a tight-knit engineering team that has worked with him for a significant period of time, and can only be addressed with substantive developmental progress.

Team principal Toto Wolff has already said he doesn’t believe the car will be competitive this year, saying Mercedes needed to “regroup”.

Hamilton was optimistic about how Mercedes would respond to the adversity of effectively becoming a midfield runner, saying it was “what we do.”

“We’re still (multiple) world champions, you know?

“Just haven’t got it right this time.

“Didn’t get it right last year.

“But that doesn’t mean we can’t get it right moving forwards.”

The F1 season continues at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix on Monday morning (AEDT).