"We're so far off" - Lewis Hamilton concedes Mercedes not fighting with top F1 teams for now

After the 2022 Saudi Arabian GP, Lewis Hamilton has admitted that Mercedes is not at the same level as top F1 teams and cannot compete with them at this time.

The seven-time world champion has been integral to Mercedes' dominance over the last decade. After his paltry P10 finish at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, Lewis Hamilton has had to face some hard truths.

Speaking to the media after Max Verstappen's thrilling win over Charles Leclerc, the Briton said:

"We'll keep fighting, it's all we can do. Right now we're not fighting for the top set. We're so far off the guys up ahead. We've got a lot of work to do. We're still really down on the speed. I don't think it's one fix, it's several things. I don't know how much drag we have compared to the others, but it feels like a lot."

Hamilton started the race on hard tires after a miserable time in qualifying on Saturday. While he did manage to run a long first stint and climb into the top 6 with that compound, Mercedes was unable to capitalize on the Virtual Safety Car and pit him for fresh rubber without losing time.

When asked if he knew the reason behind the decision not to come in while the pit lane was open, Hamilton said:

"I don't know whether it was the strategy or the VSC, but we lost out."

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"Much bigger problems this year" - Lewis Hamilton admits Mercedes seek long term fix for 2022 F1 car

Lewis Hamilton had predicted Mercedes' predicament before the first race of the season in Bahrain.

Speaking to the media after the first practice session prior to the 2022 Bahrain GP, Hamilton confessed Mercedes have an uphill task ahead of them in fixing the W13. He said:

“We’ve had small problems in the past, relatively compared to this year, we’ve had much smaller problems. We’re faced with much bigger problems this year. Everything we do to try to fix it doesn’t really change that, so it appears that it’s probably going to be a more longer-term fix, so nothing in the short term."

He continued:

"You look at the Red Bulls, they’re a long, long way ahead. It’s in the region of eight to nine tenths ahead of us, and Ferrari is probably something like half-a-second. So we’re fighting and scrapping with whoever’s behind them. My mindset is still just trying to be the best I can be, just getting the most out of the car.”

The Briton was fortunate to pick up a podium at the Sakhir Circuit after Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez had to retire their Red Bulls. This week's race has shown that the Silver Arrows' problems run deep and could see them embroiled in a midfield battle in 2022.