Mercedes were expected to come flying out of the blocks this season, having spent the majority of last year battling with an uncompetitive W13.
The Silver Arrows have however already admitted that they have made a huge mistake by sticking with the concept that caused them so many issues last season.
The team believed that they could stick with the zero sidepod approach and fix the issues over the winter without having to overhaul their concept.
Aston Martin on the other hand decided to adopt Red Bull’s design and have massively outperformed Mercedes so far this season despite having the exact same power unit as the Silver Arrows.
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Mercedes only managed a P5 and P7 finish in Bahrain despite Charles Leclerc retiring from the race, leading to the team issuing a statement to their fans to apologise for their poor start to the season.
Lewis Hamilton has sensationally claimed that he told Mercedes what was wrong with the W13’s concept last year but his team decided not to listen to him, suggesting that they now owe him an apology.
The seven-time world champion has now slammed his team for having the wrong car this season, explaining that he just needs to stay positive to try and drag Mercedes forward.
“Concern wouldn’t be the word. There’s nothing that I can say. I don’t really want to say too much,” he said.
“We’ve just got to keep working. We know we’re not where we need to be and we know that this isn’t the right car.
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“It’s a difficult one but I’ve just got to stay positive. I’ve got to keep my head up and keep pushing the guys, keep trying to be a positive light for them and get the best points I can each weekend.”
Hamilton is yet to extend his contract with Mercedes which expires at the end of this season, leading to rumours that he could leave the team should they continue to underperform this season.
While Hamilton denied these suggestions, the rumours will continue to circle until he puts pen to paper at Mercedes.