Lewis Hamilton’s struggles this season have been well-documented, and now the Mercedes star has revealed a key factor which has impacted his performances.
The seven-time Formula 1 world champion is languishing down in eighth spot on the drivers’ leaderboard after a series of disappointing displays over the first seven races this season.
The Brit equalled his best result of the campaign so far at the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix, finishing sixth in Imola, simply serving to demonstrate his glaring lack of pace in comparison to Red Bull, Ferrari and McLaren.
The prospect of the 39-year-old adding to his record 103 victories looks increasingly bleak, and he no doubt hopes to turn his fortunes around next season when he lines up for Ferrari.
‘It’s the most frustrating thing’
Hamilton’s position this season hasn’t been helped by being placed in a car which has proved to be particularly sensitive to experiencing problems regarding tyre temperatures.
The former McLaren driver admitted he can’t recall a time in his illustrious career when the characteristics of his tyres were such a big factor on his performance levels.
“I think we’re just working in a really, like, minuscule window of tyre temps,” he said, as reported by Autosport.com. “I think it’s this tyre.
“Definitely, in all my career, I don’t remember ever having such a small window of working.
“Honestly, it’s probably the most frustrating thing. You look back in the day where you had a much bigger working window to work with.
“Then you can just optimise the balance and then just have good grip throughout the whole lap – this is definitely my least favourite.”
