“He’s like a spoiled little boy”: ‘Whiner’ Lewis Hamilton not the same driver as he was before

Joan Villadelprat, a former F1 team manager, feels that Lewis Hamilton isn't the same as he used to be and has subsequently become a 'whiner' after not winning for a long time.

Since the 2022 season, Lewis Hamilton has been the subject of criticism by many, especially after his teammate outperformed him in the W13, a car that he criticized a lot.

There have been multiple occasions where the Briton has been seen complaining about his car, strategies, tires, etc. Taking all of that into account, Villadelprat mentioned that he has become a "spoiled little boy," who won't accept anything other than a victory. He said:

"Hamilton is fed up and, if he doesn’t win, he’s like a spoiled little boy: you either win or you break the toys."

"He’s a whiner, you know. The tyres, the strategy, he questions everything, and he has screwed up. When you have a [teammate] who is faster than you, it is normal to be quiet and put your head under your wing."

Lewis Hamilton has been hoping to chase his eighth world championship ever since the 2021 F1 season. After coming extremely close to it, Mercedes lost the competitiveness of their performance with the new aerodynamic regulations that were introduced. Although the W14 (this year's challenger) is supposedly more drivable than the W13, it is still not good enough to win.

Villadelprat feels that Hamilton is not the same as he was at the start of his career, and the only thing that would motivate him is another world title. He said:

"I think he hasn’t lost but, after seven titles… What motivates you? Well, win another. And you’re not going to risk your skin if you don’t have that car. What is evident is that Hamilton is not the same as his first or second championship."

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Mercedes expecting developmental upgrades as Lewis Hamilton still slow for a victory

Mercedes will be bringing in major upgrades to their car soon, which is also speculated to include a change in the car's design concept. George Russell spoke about the condition of the team earlier, and although the team is not in a condition to win, he is expecting the upgrades to help them with their performance. He said:

"I mean, I don’t read what’s been said in the news all the time, but you know, we’re here to win, we’re here to fight for victories and for the championship, and clearly we’re not in a position to do that at the moment."

"But big changes are incoming... Naturally you can’t get things brought that quickly to the car, but I think in due course, we’ll see some big changes and hopefully the lap times represent that."

Despite the performance of the team, Lewis Hamilton finished second in the Australian Grand Prix. This showed the improved performance that Mercedes had since Russell seemed to be having a good race until he had to retire early because of reliability issues in the engine.