'Not a lot we can do': Lewis Hamilton exposes grim Mercedes reality
Lewis Hamilton has made a staggering admission about his chances at the Australian Grand Prix after exposing the grim reality of Mercedes' struggles in 2022.
The seven-time world champion was fortunate to edge onto the podium in Bahrain's season opening race, with Mercedes' problems with their new W13 design well-documented.
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More problems followed for the 37-year-old and his team in Saudi Arabia, where Hamilton fell to his first performance-related Q1 elimination since 2009 and Mercedes failed to make the top five on the grid for the first time since the 2013 Italian Grand Prix.
Those early season woes showed no signs of being rectified during Friday's practice at Melbourne's Albert Park, where Ferrari again dominated in the lead-up to Sunday's Australian GP.
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff warned not to expect any "magic fix" for their new W13 car 'porpoising' – bouncing at high speed – and not racing at the optimum height.
Hamilton and team-mate George Russell finished well behind a Ferrari one-two of Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc in the first practice, and things did not improve in the second session when Russell was 11th quickest and Hamilton a lowly 13th.
Speaking after their lacklustre showing in practice, Hamilton conceded that Sunday's race was going to be a struggle for the British-based F1 team.
The 37-year-old said no matter what the team does to try and improve performance, nothing has been working.
"I feel good, I feel okay. It was just a difficult session," Hamilton told Sky Sports.
"You go in very optimistic, you make changes, and it doesn't seem to be wanting to improve.
"We made some changes going into FP2; FP1 was better, and FP2 ended up being a bit harder, so it's tricky. I don't think it'll be tricky to find our way back, there's just not a lot we can do. This is the way it is, so we just have to drive with it.
"We're trying to push, trying to catch, and even when you do a decent lap, it's 1.2s down."
Russell, who is fourth in the drivers' championship despite not making the podium in his opening two races, echoed Hamilton's frustrations.
"We're not in the position that we want," Russell said. "There's quite a few midfield cars ahead of us, and we're quite a long way off the pace. We need to work hard tonight and understand the limitations [of the car].
Asked if he was still enjoying driving, Russell added: "Driving is always cool, [but] you enjoy it more when you're on top of the timesheet!
"When you think you've done a good lap and then you look at the timesheet and see that you're down in P11, it's not where we want to be as a team. It's all about results."
Ferrari and Red Bull cars continue to set the pace
Ferrari on the other hand are flying, with Carlos Sainz and teammate Charles Leclerc finishing one-two in the first practice session at Melbourne's Albert Park circuit on Friday.
In the second practice, Leclerc logged the quickest lap of the day with Red Bull rival Max Verstappen next-best, followed by Sainz.
Australia's Daniel Ricciardo was eighth-fastest in the 20-car field in the first practice and 10th in the second session.
Ricciardo is among a pack trying to rein in Ferrari's championship leader Leclerc and second-placed Sainz.
The famed Italian team banked double-podium finishes in the initial two races this season with Leclerc boasting a win and a second place, and Sainz a third and a second.
But Spanish veteran Sainz is warning against thinking Ferrari, who didn't win a grand prix in the past two years, have the wood of recent powerhouses Mercedes and Red Bull.
"We keep saying that Red Bull and Mercedes are the favourites because we haven't been in a title fight in the last few years," Sainz said.
"We are still super cautious.
"We know we have put together on track a great car but these two teams have been in the title fight for the last two or three years.
"They know how much they need to improve, they know exactly what they need to do.
"And we maybe are lacking that bit of experience.
"We have great people and we are prepared but we don't know, we are still cautious."
Changes to the Albert Park track, including resurfacing and tinkering with corners, shaved more than five seconds from the previous lap record set by German great Michael Schumacher in 2004.
All 19 drivers who took to the track in the second practice - triple Albert Park winner Sebastian Vettel was a spectator after mechanical issues in the initial practice - clocked times inside Schumacher's long-standing mark of 1:24.125.
with agencies
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