Why Lewis Hamilton once described the 2018 Austrian Grand Prix as one of his ‘worst’ ever F1 races

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Lewis Hamilton has endured some fairly tough Formula 1 races lately and dealt with a particularly turbulent debut season with Ferrari so far.

The Briton is nearly five years removed from his last drivers’ championship and his pursuit of a record eighth has not gone to plan.

At times, Hamilton continues to show flashes of brilliance, indicating that he is still at the top of his game on his day.

But, Ferrari just haven’t been able to produce a car worthy of helping him to the top of the standings, and it doesn’t look like that will change before the 2026 F1 regulations.

Hamilton thinks Ferrari’s ‘main problem’ is upgrades and believes that the team should be pushing more of them through.

For now, it appears that Hamilton will ‘bide his time’ at Ferrari and remain patient in their pursuit of further performance.

READ MORE: Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton’s life outside of F1 from net worth to family

Lewis Hamilton described the 2018 Austrian Grand Prix as one of his ‘worst’ ever F1 races

Although the majority of the early V6 hybrid era was boring to some fans, one driver was a big beneficiary of the regulations.

Hamilton suffered car problems during Mercedes’ dominance but they were a very rare occurrence. Pardon for the pun, but they were a very well-oiled operation, and continue to be today.

One of the few exceptions came in the middle of an intense title fight with Ferrari and Sebastian Vettel in 2018, at the Austrian Grand Prix.

The Briton was forced to retire from the race with a loss of fuel pressure, which allowed Vettel to regain the championship lead by one point after the race. It could have been a crucial turning point.

Speaking to BBC Sport after the race, he said: “We can’t throw away points. It’s not a great feeling. An unfortunate day. Everyone is going to be feeling the pain.

“We have had such great reliability for so many years and as painful as it is, we have to take the rough with the smooth. But I have every confidence in my team that we will be able to bounce back.”

He also made one damning comment about the weekend too, calling it ‘The worst race I can remember for a very, very long time.’

READ MORE: Five worst moments of Lewis Hamilton’s F1 career including Chinese GP woe and Italian GP disaster

Why Nico Rosberg disagreed with Martin Brundle about Lewis Hamilton

10 races into his Formula 1 career with Ferrari, and Hamilton is yet to step onto a podium during a Grand Prix.

Rosberg disagrees about Hamilton’s driving style and feels that Martin Brundle’s view of his racecraft is too angelic.

Considering they were teammates for four seasons, who would know any better than the man who raced him most intensely? He knows what he is capable of.

That was nearly one decade ago now, and it’s time for him to try and replicate that sort of form if he wants to get to the top again.

Otherwise, he risks a frustrating and disappointing end to his career. He may even end up regretting leaving Mercedes.