Lewis Hamilton has conceded Mercedes have failed to improve their car over the opening five races of the season after he finished sixth at the Miami Grand Prix. The seven-time world champion admitted they were not going forwards with a car that his team principal, Toto Wolff, acknowledged remains off the pace and is a handful to drive and understand, as they consider dropping the design concept next year.
Max Verstappen won the race for Red Bull, having passed Charles Leclerc for the lead on lap nine and then delivering a controlled and dominant drive to the flag. It was a consummate display from the Dutchman with Ferrari simply unable to match their pace. In so doing he closed to 19 points behind Leclerc in the championship.
Mercedes had brought their first major upgrades of the season to Miami and were hopeful at least of making the incremental steps they required in order to extract more from their car, which is still suffering from the violent porpoising on the straights that has prevented …
- May 9, 2022
