Lewis Hamilton declared his Mercedes car “deteriorating” and dismissed hopes that it would improve by next year after struggling with Friday’s practice for the Canadian Grand Prix this weekend.
The seven-time World Champion, who declared his first F1 victory at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in 2007 and set a record seven times on the track, finished 13th in his second practice.
He admitted that Mercedes, which had a hard time this season, is “here this year” and is unlikely to change or improve enough to improve its shape and results.
The team was particularly plagued by performance issues with “porpoising” and bounces, and chose to try some radical setup ideas to resolve the issue.
“Cars are getting worse enough for us to do that,” Hamilton said.
“It’s almost the same for us every Friday. I tried a lot, including the experimental floor on my side, but it didn’t work.
“Nothing seems to work for this car. We went in different ways, but nothing worked. It was a disaster for me.
“We will continue to work on it, but that’s the status quo and I think it’s this year’s car, so we have to work hard to make a better car for next year.”
Hamilton said he went in the opposite direction with his teammate George Russell, who was seventh on Friday, with a radical setup proposal to improve performance, especially the “porpoise” that caused severe back pain this season. ..
James Allison, Chief Technology Officer of the team, attended Circuit Gilles Villeneuve on Friday to help Mercedes find a solution to the problem.
Hamilton laughed, explaining his experience driving a car as it bounced, jumped, and moved around the truck.
In the final few minutes, a new floor was installed and he told the team, “This car can’t be driven now.”
Hamilton also said he was relieved to finish the day without more serious physical concerns after suffering from a serious back problem in Bak last Sunday.
