Lewis Hamilton told he’s ‘struggling’ with the same issue that forced Daniel Ricciardo to retire

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Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton had a return to the Sao Paulo Grand Prix to forget during his final visit racing for the Silver Arrows.

Lewis Hamilton is an honorary Brazilian citizen and in the build-up to Sunday’s race at Interlagos, Hamilton was handed the honour of driving an iconic McLaren once raced by Ayrton Senna.

The 39-year-old won his first world championship with McLaren at what was once known as the Brazilian Grand Prix in 2008, before going on to win three times in Sao Paulo with Mercedes.

However, the 2024 weekend couldn’t have gone much worse for the seven-time world champion as he scored just a single point across both the Sprint Race and Sunday’s Grand Prix.

He was eliminated before the top-ten shootout in both qualifying sessions, failing to gain a place in the Sprint Race as he couldn’t find a way past Alex Albon.

Hamilton was overtaken by Franco Colapinto at one point during the race as he managed to hold off Sergio Perez to finish 10th and deny the only driver racing for one of the top four teams who’s below him in the Drivers’ Championship the chance to add to his points tally.

Marc Priestley was speaking on his YouTube channel about Hamilton and wondered if he was suffering from the same issue as Daniel Ricciardo before he was let go by RB earlier this season.

If that’s the case, then he may struggle going forward, although he does offer the Brit some hope about his upcoming move to Ferrari.

Marc Priestley suggests Lewis Hamilton is facing same issue as Daniel Ricciardo

Reflecting on the race, Priestley said: “I mean Lewis Hamilton, what on Earth happened to Lewis Hamilton? Somebody asked me earlier, why has Lewis Hamilton gone off the boil and I honestly think this is a similar type of situation to the likes of Daniel Ricciardo in recent times, Checo Perez.

“I don’t think Daniel Ricciardo, Checo Perez or Lewis Hamilton have suddenly become bad drivers.

“I think the modern generation of cars are so specific, they’re so nuanced in the way that you get the performance out of them and in the case of those three drivers, it’s not suiting the driving style that they’re so used to, it’s ingrained within them that they have built their careers around.

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

“These cars require something very specific, both from a technical point of view when it comes to setting them up really low and stiff, but also in the way that you drive them and it’s not suiting those guys.

“They’re struggling to get the tyre temperature into the tyres and as soon as you don’t get that, as soon as you fall out of that window, the performance disappears.

“That’s what I think is happening to Lewis.”

Priestley did give some hope to Hamilton fans by suggesting that his move to Ferrari next year could solve a lot of those issues if their 2025 car when in its optimum performance window suits him better.

Ted Kravitz questions bizarre Mercedes ‘no-no’ during the Sao Paulo Grand Prix

Hamilton was very unhappy with his car during the race and said to the media in the paddock: “That was such a tough race for us today – and probably one of the most difficult race weekends of the season, to be honest.

“The car has been very difficult to drive all weekend, and it didn’t hook up at any point during the race either.”

He did thank the fans for their support despite a tough weekend as well as the Mercedes staff in the garage and the factory for their hard work.

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However, Ted Kravitz noticed a key error Mercedes made before the race and while it didn’t impact Hamilton’s performance, it suggests a small amount of sloppiness potentially creeping in.

Hamilton will hope for one last success before he leaves Mercedes, but that doesn’t look like it’s going to be on the cards.