"Mercedes is making my goat doubt about his capacity": Fans react to Lewis Hamilton claiming he's not fast anymore
F1 fans recently reacted to Lewis Hamilton claiming that he was no longer fast enough. This comment came after a poor performance at the 2024 F1 Qatar GP sprint qualifying.
In the sprint qualifying session in Lusail, the seven-time world champion was able to get into SQ3, however, he only managed to secure P7. He was behind his teammate, George Russell, both McLaren and Ferrari drivers, and his 2021 rival Max Verstappen.
After sprint qualifying, Lewis Hamilton was asked whether he had some issues since he claimed that the car was quick enough. In response, the Mercedes star smiled and admitted he was not quick like he used to be.
Who knows? I'm definitely not fast anymore," Hamilton said.
This was quite a shocking comment from the seven-time world champion. Hence, thousands of F1 fans reacted to it. Some were sad to see Hamilton's confidence diminish to this extent and blamed Mercedes for it.
"Merc is making my goat doubt about his capacity," one fan wrote.
"They’re breaking his spirit," another added.
A few people argued that Lewis Hamilton said it sarcastically and also claimed that he winked after saying that he was not fast enough. One fan wrote that once he joins Ferrari, Hamilton would start bagging pole positions again.
"'I'm not fast anymore' Meanwhile, when Lewis puts the red car on pole in Australia next year:," one follower wrote.
"The replies. He’s literally smiling and winks after saying it," someone claimed.
"He’s fine and just trolling. He knows he’s getting a different setup and because of that, he’s slower. I also think he’s just counting down the days until his contract expires on December 31st, 2024," another opined.
The last few races in the 2024 F1 season has not been the best of Hamilton's, with the only exception being Las Vegas GP. Furthermore, Lewis Hamilton has also shown signs of not being happy with Mercedes' on-track pace and said he was looking forward to Christmas, after which he will shift from Mercedes to Ferrari.
Lewis Hamilton mentally checked out after a poor Brazilian GP result
After the Brazilian GP, Lewis Hamilton expressed that he did not care where he finished in the drivers' championship and was waiting to end the season and enjoy his winter holidays. Speaking to Motorsport.com, he said that he would only try to keep the car in one piece and bring in as many points as possible for the team, provided they offer him a good car.
“I just put my focus on something else. I'm not fighting for the championship. Doesn't matter, really, where we finish in the championship. I don't care if I finish ahead of [team-mate] George [Russell] or behind George. It doesn't make any difference to me. I just want to keep the car out the wall and try to score points if I can for the team, if I can finish, whatever," Hamilton said.
"If they give me a car that doesn't bounce off the track in the next few races, then hopefully we can get a better result. But yeah, looking forward to Christmas.” he added.
Following the poor result in Brazil, Lewis Hamilton had a great weekend in Las Vegas where he finished second, only behind his teammate and race winner, George Russell.