Lewis Hamilton hits back at suggestions he should have retired last season
The seven-time world champion has endured a difficult start to this season with Mercedes
Formula 1 legend Lewis Hamilton appeared to counter suggestions that he should have retired last year by insisting that he will “decide when it’s finished”.
The seven-time world champion has endured a difficult start to this season with Mercedes, who are hoping to bring upgrades to their car to the next grand prix that will make them more competitive.
They are already a long way adrift of Ferrari and Red Bull in the constructors’ standings after only four races, while Hamilton has admitted that his chances of an eighth world title are over as he sits seventh in the drivers’ championship.
Helmut Marko, the Red Bull adviser, joked recently that the 37-year-old should have retired after he was narrowly and dramatically beaten to the title by Max Verstappen in the final race of the season in December. After the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix last weekend, Marko said: “I mean, he was lapped by us, so maybe he should have stopped last year.”
In an apparent retort to that, Hamilton posted a photo of himself on social media late on Wednesday night, with the caption: “Working on my masterpiece, I’ll be the one to decide when it’s finished.”
Hamilton has appeared particularly downbeat at race weekends this season, struggling both in qualifying and on race days with a car that is experiencing aggressive porpoising — bouncing up and down on the straights.
It has led to suggestions that Mercedes should abandon their design and focus on building a new car, with next season in mind.
However, with a break in the schedule this weekend before the next race in Miami, the team who have won the constructors’ title for the past eight seasons appear determined to fix their present problems.
Andrew Shovlin, their trackside engineering director, said: “A lot of the work that is going on in [the factory in] Brackley has been to understand the phenomenon and whether we can actually control it [porpoising], whether we can engineer it out of the car. Is there an aerodynamic solution that we can apply to the car that will make this problem go away?
“Now, being realistic we think this will be something we approach in steps rather than one big moment where the whole thing vanishes. But we are seeing encouraging signs. As I said, we are hoping to bring parts to the car soon, maybe even Miami where we can hopefully see progress on this issue.”
