‘It can be so frustrating’ – Hamilton likens Mercedes’ troubles over past few seasons to ‘playing golf’

Lewis Hamilton has admitted that the inconsistencies Mercedes have faced with their car across the last three seasons have been “frustrating”, with the seven-time world champion likening the ups and downs to a round of golf.

Following a sustained period of dominance which saw the team claim every constructors’ title between 2014 and 2021 – as well as each drivers’ championship in that time barring the 2021 crown – the Silver Arrows experienced a change in fortunes in 2022 amid the introduction of new technical regulations.

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The squad claimed just one victory that year thanks to George Russell’s debut win in Brazil, while 2023 proved to be a winless campaign.

Signs of improvement arrived midway through 2024, though, with Russell triumphing in Austria before Hamilton took a long-awaited and emotional victory at Silverstone, a feat he followed up with a P1 result at Spa-Francorchamps.

While that run of form hinted at promise for Mercedes, the team appear to have fallen back in the races since. Asked during the Singapore Grand Prix weekend if he was driving a car that was making his life difficult this season, Hamilton joked in response: “The last three years, yeah!”

The 39-year-old reflected further on the highs and lows experienced recently as he continued: “No, this one’s definitely been better. The last two years, it made all of us in the team’s lives tough. I would say these rules have made life tough for everyone.

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“Some weekends we arrive and we think we’re going to be better than we are and we’re not great, and then some weekends all of a sudden we’re there and win the race and it lifts us up.

“It’s a bit like playing golf. You get one good hit and it makes you continue, but all the rest of the shots are really bad! It’s that kind of experience.

“It can be so frustrating, but you still love it and you still continue to go. You’ve got to keep pushing because you’re searching for that feeling again like we’ve had at Silverstone or Spa.”

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With six races remaining before he departs the Silver Arrows for Ferrari in 2025, Hamilton is sixth in the drivers’ standings with 174 points, while Mercedes currently occupy fourth place in the constructors' table on a tally of 329, some 112 points away from the Scuderia in third.