F1 News
Steiner criticises Hamilton's F1 attitude: 'He's not dealing with it well'
Former Haas team boss Guenther Steiner has analysed Lewis Hamilton's attitude. The seven-time World Champion is leaving Mercedes at the end of the season, and Steiner believes Hamilton is "not dealing with it well".
Hamilton will be moving to Ferrari for the 2025 Formula 1 season. After achieving so much success with Mercedes between 2014 and 2021, the German team has struggled since the rules and regulations changed in 2022. Steiner has seen Hamilton grow frustrated with Mercedes and sees how it is easy for him to complain about the things that are going wrong.
The British driver, who won six Formula World Championships with Mercedes, has just three Grand Prix weekends remaining before moving to Ferrari during the upcoming winter break. Hamilton failed to reach Q3 in conditions in which Hamilton normally excels. He scored just one point and finished 50 seconds behind race winner Max Verstappen. Hamilton gave a blunt assessment on the event in Brazil and said the end can't come soon enough.
Why Hamilton is complaining a lot
Hamilton, who made a bizarre radio message to his team after the race in Brazil, has been critical of his car this season. Steiner has analysed the situation for the 39-year-old. "The car is what it is. It's not the best car. It's the fourth-best car at the moment on a good day. So I think Lewis, knowing he's leaving anyway, is like it's easier to complain. He doesn't like the car, how it drives, knows that now in three races he's not there anymore. It gets at him, and I would say he's not dealing with that very well," Steiner said on the Red Flags Podcast.
"I think Lewis is just, at this point, he doesn't like the car. He complains about it. He sees the glass half empty while George sees his half full opportunity. Lewis sees it as 'I've got a few more races to go here, there's nothing left to be won," Steiner added.
Russell has often outperformed Hamilton this season, and his result in Brazil allowed him to leapfrog Hamilton in the World Championship. Hamilton stressed that he wasn't fussed about where he would finish in the standings. Steiner believes it's completely the opposite for Russell.
Earlier in the season, when Red Bull had some internal problems, team boss Toto Wolff flirted with Max Verstappen. A move will not happen anytime soon, but Mercedes has demonstrated interest. With Andrea Kimi Antonelli in their ranks, Steiner believes Russell knows his future is not 100% safe.
"George has got all the interest to do whatever he has to do there to get it out of it, to show that he's the leader of the team for the future. He has to prove that because he knows that his seat, when his contract is up, is not 100% safe," Steiner concluded.
Want more Formula 1? Then follow GPblog on our various social media channels!