10x F1 winner pinpoints two problems that hindered Lewis Hamilton against George Russell at Mercedes in 2024

10x F1 race winner Gerhard Berger thinks the two issues that hindered Lewis Hamilton in 2024 were the fact that Mercedes was a race winner in rare situations and he had been with the team for too long. The 2024 season was one of the worst seasons of Hamilton's career.

Throughout the season, it became clear that the driver was just not on top of the car, and there were far too many issues that he was unable to get on top of. The Mercedes was a handful for sure, and it was evident from the onboards that not only Hamilton but also George Russell had to work hard to get on top of issues.

What was noticeable, however, was the fact that while Russell was almost always able to extract the best from the car, with Hamilton it was a bit of a hit-and-miss. There were moments where he got the job done, and he was right with his teammate, and then there were others where he was nowhere. It was a result of this inconsistency that the younger driver did somewhat take over the lead role within the team.

Gerhard Berger gave his take on the situation and felt that Lewis Hamilton's performance was a result of stagnation of being at Mercedes for this long and the car peaking only on a few occasions. He told AMuS:

"I think Lewis Hamilton needs new motivation. He had two problems: the Mercedes was only a winning car in exceptional cases, and he had been in the same team for so long that only a change of scenery would help. Finishing fifth is not a result that motivates Hamilton.

He will really bite his teeth again at Ferrari and could definitely achieve top performance again. On the other hand, I think he will struggle against Leclerc's speed. This is going to be a very tight box."

In Berger's view, on the current F1 grid, Verstappen was still heads and shoulders above everyone else including Hamilton, Charles Leclerc, George Russell, etc.

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Max Verstappen heads and shoulders above Lewis Hamilton and Co, per Gerhard Berger

Giving his take on how he viewed the current grid with the kind of talent it has, Gerhard Berger said (via AMuS):

"The order in the field is pretty clear. At the top, Max stands above everyone else. Behind you you have Norris, Leclerc, Russell, and Hamilton at eye level. (Oscar) Piastri is already knocking. Sometimes it's there, sometimes it's not. We have to give it time this year to be able to finally assess it."

Lewis Hamilton is chasing something that could make him the most successful driver in F1 history. If he does end up winning the title with Ferrari, it would be his eighth and he would surpass Michael Schumacher's seven.