Hamilton ‘Exhausted’ After ‘Fighting The Car’ Throughout Japanese GP

Posted on September 24, 2023 | by Harry Eagleton On the day Red Bull won their sixth Constructors’ title, we’re wondering when everyone else is going to get their act together. Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton is still having a torrid time trying to stay on top of his unruly car and has offered some insight as to how his team are approaching their 2024 challenger. “I’m exhausted for one. [I’ve been] fighting the car, fighting with absolutely everything I have to get as high up as possible and get ahead of Ferrari,” he told Sky Sports F1. “I was giving it absolutely everything but it’s tough on weekends like this, particularly when the car is such a handful and basically the exact same as last year. Feeling-wise, the car felt just the same as last year, bouncing and sliding.” So, I think it’s fair to say he’s not happy about the development work that’s gone on with the car since last year. Good thing, then, that he feels he’s being listened to, alongside teammate, George Russell. “There are things that I’ve asked for… in part of the direction for next year. I think all the points that George and I give I think have been fully listened to.” Speaking of George, however much of a handful that Merc is, both drivers still managed to throw the kitchen sink at one another today. We were having vivid flashbacks to the Hamilton/Rosberg era and, isn’t that actually the point here? Imagine a scenario where today’s constructors’ championship victory wasn’t so inevitably won by Red Bull, and that the Mercedes duo were right up there in the points. That kind of dualling, with titles on the line, that’s the stuff an F1 fan’s dreams are made of. George didn’t seem too fazed, however, recognising that any on-track spiciness we saw today just isn’t what his team should be focussed on. “We’re not going to give a position up easily to one another,” he told Sky. “It was still early on in the race. I had more pace but he was the car that was ahead. As I said, it’s part of racing, we’re not even going to discuss it, there’s nothing to discuss. We’ve got bigger fish to fry, which is ‘how do we make our car go quicker?’” So, the car’s dodgy all around, it seems. We reckon if Mercedes can just get their act together, then we’ve got one hell of a scrap on our hands. Do you think Russell would have still let Hamilton by if they were both title contenders?