Toto Wolff has defended Lewis Hamilton after the seven-time world champion candidly and alarmingly admitted his struggles in the 2024 Mercedes, describing himself as simply "slow."
Once one of Formula 1's strongest qualifiers, Hamilton's record against teammate George Russell this season is a concerning 5-18, with the gap in Qatar stretching to half a second.
"I'm slow - the same every weekend," the 39-year-old admitted. "The car has felt relatively decent, no problems. I'm just not fast anymore."
Asked if he believes the situation will improve when he joins Ferrari in 2025 to partner Charles Leclerc, Hamilton sounded uncertain.
"I have no idea," he said. "At this point I don't care. I'm looking forward to the winter break."
Mercedes team boss Wolff dismissed suggestions that Hamilton's struggles are a sign of diminishing abilities or motivation.
"He just doesn't like this car," Wolff told Viaplay in Qatar. "In a strong car, Lewis can do incredible things, but the development of the car has gone in a direction that he is just not happy with.
"You can see that he is trying to get more out of it, but it is not how he naturally wants to drive. He wants to be able to steer sharply and brake hard, and that is just not possible now."
Mercedes has grappled with inconsistency since the advent of Formula 1's ground effect regulations in 2022, an issue that has affected several teams.
Red Bull's Max Verstappen, for instance, compared his car to one of his father's rally vehicles during the Qatar sprint session but still managed to secure pole position later on Saturday.
"This Formula 1 is impossible to understand anymore," Red Bull advisor Dr Helmut Marko remarked. "In the sprint, Max is in an undriveable car and even overtaken by (Nico) Hulkenberg. Three hours later, he drives to pole position."
With the championship already secured, Verstappen echoed Hamilton's sentiment of looking forward to the end of a long season.
"I am happy that it is almost over," said the Dutchman. "I am not so much tired, but it is more that I'm living in the dark all the time lately.
"That was also the case last week in Las Vegas and same for Abu Dhabi. I don't want to say it's depressing, but we all need a bit of sunlight. I'm not a bat."
