IT was impossible not to chuckle when Lewis Hamilton trotted out the old line during preseason testing in Bahrain.
If you missed it, after his Mercedes team turned up with a striking new slim-line car that got people talking in the paddock, Hamilton delivered his verdict on his challenger for 2022.
He said: “I don’t think we will be competing for wins…we’re not the quickest at the moment.”
Come on, Lewis. Pull the other one! Mercedes have dominated since 2014!
Or at least that’s what I thought – and so it seems a few of the other drivers in the paddock did too.
Hamilton’s assessment was given short-shrift by the Ferrari man Carlos Sainz and F1 world champion, Max Verstappen, both of whom hinted Merc were bluffing to keep their true speed a secret.
After all, it is hardly surprising from Hamilton given he said almost the same thing last year and then proceeded to win the season-opener.
However, sources close to the team reveal that Hamilton’s summing up IS pretty much spot-on.
And while that doesn’t bode well for the Brit or his teammate, George Russell, when the season kicks off in Bahrain on Sunday, it is good news for F1 and creating more drama.
To understand why they have problems, we need to flick back around nine months to the time Hamilton urged his team to provide upgrades to help in his fight with Verstappen for the title.
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At the time, Merc had switched their focus to their 2022 development while Red Bull continued to chuck money at Verstappen’s car, with those new parts making it quicker.
Merc listened to Hamilton’s plea and reallocated some of that time and finance back to their 2021 car, which helped him take the fight down to the final lap of the season in Abu Dhabi.
But at what cost? Will that shift in focus mean Mercedes start 2022 on the back foot, while the likes of Ferrari – who look incredibly quick – pretty much wrote off 2021 to get it right this season.
Mercedes’ issues are three fold and none are good for a racing car.
They have a problem maintaining top speed, the car is too heavy and the handling is all over the place, especially at high speed causing the driver to bounce around in the cockpit.
So perhaps Hamilton IS right this time. Mercedes ARE on the backfoot and Ferrari will finally be in the mix for a win.
Having said all that, Mercedes do have a habit of getting it right, which means you can forget all the above and bank on a Hamilton win this Sunday.
