Lewis Hamilton’s former engineer pinpoints where he consistently ‘lets himself down’

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The ground effect era has been the toughest spell of Lewis Hamilton’s career. His Mercedes team have rarely been in a position to compete for wins.

In fact, between 2022 and the summer of 2024, the Silver Arrows only won one race. Even then, it was George Russell who led home Hamilton in Brazil.

For the most part, it’s been impossible to compete with Red Bull. The Milton Keynes outfit very nearly completed a clean sweep of races in 2023 as they won 21 out of 22.

Hamilton finished a career-low sixth in the standings in 2022, 214 points behind Max Verstappen. He climbed to a commendable third last year, but the gap grew to 341.

This year, he’s back in sixth, though he is ahead of Russell. With 10 races remaining, he’s 127 points adrift of Verstappen, and he can realistically hope to get the gap well under 100 before Abu Dhabi.

Mercedes started the year lagging some way behind the contenders. But a breakthrough with their W15 put them in a position to win three of the last four before the summer break, including Hamilton’s emotional victory at Silverstone – his first since the end of 2021.

Lewis Hamilton doesn’t give everything when he can’t win a race

Speaking to Motorsport-Total, Hamilton’s old performance engineer Philipp Brandle explained how he consistently ‘lets himself down’. When he has ‘no chance of winning the race’, he leaves some performance in reserve.

By contrast, if there’s even the ‘slightest’ opportunity to stand on the top step, there’s nobody better than him. F1’s most successful driver issued a reminder of his generational talent with a masterclass in the dry/wet/dry British GP.

“What I think always sets him apart a little bit, both positively and negatively, is that when he knows he has the slightest chance of doing something,” ex-Mercedes man Brandle said. “Then he can drive at 200 percent.

“But when he has the feeling that the car isn’t running well, that he somehow has no chance of winning the race, then he unfortunately lets himself down a little, which is a real shame. The other is just really exorbitantly good: If he sees even the slightest chance, he still drives as well as anyone else, I think.”

Why Lewis Hamilton isn’t as ‘mature’ as George Russell or Nico Rosberg

Hamilton is leaving Mercedes at the end of the year to join Ferrari. That looked like an inspired move in the spring but now Toto Wolff’s squad have overtaken the Italian giants in the pecking order.

Indeed, the consensus in the F1 paddock is that Hamilton has made a mistake. Mercedes are finally reaching the level of performance he’s craved for the best part of three years.

The seven-time champion will go up against Charles Leclerc at Maranello in a test of his longevity. Ferrari chairman John Elkann says only Alonso can match Hamilton in this regard.

In terms of raw speed, however, Leclerc will arguably be the quickest driver he’s ever faced. He ranks just outside the top 10 all-time for pole positions despite rarely having the fastest car.

But pace alone isn’t everything. And Brandle also says Hamilton isn’t as ‘mature’ as Russell, nor Nico Rosberg, when it comes to utilising data, something that could hamper him at Ferrari.