Ted Kravitz says Lewis Hamilton disagrees with Toto Wolff over Mercedes car

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Lewis Hamilton and Toto Wolff have different opinions over Mercedes’ car, Sky Sports F1’s Ted Kravitz says.

Hamilton struggled again in qualifying for the Australian Grand Prix, failing to reach Q3.

And speaking on Ted’s Notebook, Kravitz suggested that he doesn’t share the same attitude to the W15 to his team boss.

Hamilton will start Sunday’s race from 11th, his lowest grid position in Melbourne since 2010.

He’s traditionally a specialist at Albert Park, with a record eight poles to his name.

But Hamilton has qualified no higher than eighth at the first three events of the season.

And the seven-time world champion isn’t faring much better in the races either, having only amassed eight points so far.

That leaves him ninth in the championship, 10 points and five places down on teammate George Russell.

Hamilton is coming to the end of a historic partnership with Mercedes that has delivered six world championships.

The 39-year-old will join rivals Ferrari next year to race alongside Charles Leclerc.

Lewis Hamilton unconvinced by Toto Wolff ‘optimism’ over new Mercedes

Kravitz was surprised to see hear Wolff strike an upbeat note on Mercedes’ prospects this season.

He thinks that, in Hamilton’s eyes, the car is plagued by the same balance issues as its recent predecessors.

Kravitz said: “I thought it was optimistic for Toto Wolff to say that he still believes that this car is somehow going to get there.

“Clearly, I don’t think Lewis Hamilton believes it. I think Lewis Hamilton believes that it’s cursed with the same bad handling characteristics, especially at the rear of the car, that last year’s car and the car before it had as well.

“Clearly this car is still not right.”

Mercedes struggle to get on top of W15

Kravitz’s Sky F1 colleague Naomi Schiff revealed that Anthony Davidson had spent ‘all day’ on Friday in the simulator trying to find a solution for Mercedes’ Melbourne woes.

But while the Silver Arrows showed promise in the final practice session in fourth and fifth, with Hamilton only a tenth off pacesetter Leclerc, they then regressed in qualifying.

Commentator David Croft says Hamilton’s early exit left the crowd ‘shellshocked’.

But Martin Brundle watched the veteran driver exert ‘a lot of effort’ for only ‘marginal’ improvements before RB driver Yuki Tsunoda knocked him out.

Hamilton knows that he almost certainly won’t win an eighth title with Mercedes but will want to sign off on a high.

He hasn’t won a race since the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix at the end of the 2021 season.

The Silver Arrows have only scored one victory since the beginning of 2022, with Russell beating Hamilton in Brazil a couple of years ago.