“It’s a big gap”: Lewis Hamilton concedes Mercedes victory chances in Bahrain after Red Bull and Aston Martin steal the show

Lewis Hamilton is not confident about Mercedes' chances in the opening race of the 2023 season in Bahrain, saying after the second free practice session that the team are a "long way off" the grid leaders.

The results after the first two practice sessions have not been favorable for the Silver Arrows. Although none of the teams have performed to their maximum potential and are likely 'sandbagging,' Hamilton feels that the W14 is not a match for its competitors.

While Mercedes' shortcomings were apparent during pre-season testing, there was clear daylight between Mercedes and the top performers - Red Bull and Aston Martin - during the practice sessions. Motorsportweek.com quoted the Briton saying:

"I mean we found out we’re a long way off – we kind of knew that a little bit in the test, but it’s a big gap. I’m trying everything we can out there, it is what it is, we just have to work at it."

After a disappointing 2022 season, Mercedes were expected to mount a title challenge with their seemingly much-improved W14. While both drivers gave positive reviews in the build-up to the season, Hamilton's statement raised doubts about the overall performance of the car.

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Lewis Hamilton feels the car hasn't improved from last season

Lewis Hamilton feels that the performance of the W14 hasn't improved since last season, and contrary to their competitors, the team's prospects might have worsened. He highlighted Aston Martin's impressive performances, saying they seemed like the second-best car on the grid.

Hamilton further stated that Mercedes were close to Ferrari and only the third or fourth best.

"On the long run we’re quite close to Ferrari, it looks like Aston [Martin] is second, then we’re between third or fourth. So we’re kind of where we are last year or a little bit further behind."

This might be a reason to worry for Mercedes as both Lewis Hamilton and George Russell seem to be way behind on their pace. While it could be possible that the team might be underperforming on purpose, there is still a possibility that the cars might not be as competitive as the team expects them to be.

Although there is a good possibility that the upgrade packages throughout the length of the season will help them improve, there still might be a lot of work remaining for the team to do on the cars.