"It was like I was in a different category" - Lewis Hamilton laments Mercedes' deficit compared to competitors in the F1 Saudi Arabian GP

Lewis Hamilton lamented another bad race weekend in Jeddah, where the Mercedes driver could only finish in P9. The driver has not had the best start to the season. He's seen himself get out-qualified by teammate George Russell in both races and finished both races behind him as well.

The one thing, however, that was striking about Lewis Hamilton's race in Jeddah was the aero efficiency of the Mercedes in the high-speed sections. The car reportedly lost around half a second in those sections, and that was evident when Lewis was trying to chase down Lando Norris in his McLaren.

Talking about the deficiencies of the car in that section, Lewis Hamilton admitted that it felt like driving in a different category. He told the media, including Sportskeeda:

"It's going to be challenging in these next races. I think all the high-speed circuits we are going to be at a disadvantage with the package we currently have. But we're good in the low-speed, and some of the medium-speed, we're not so bad. It's just really the high-speed, so we just have to add performance. It was like I was in a different category when I was going through the high speed with the other guys around me."

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"I wouldn't say I'm having fun": Lewis Hamilton

Lewis Hamilton admitted that he didn't have a great time driving the car as he only contested for P9 in the race. The driver touched on his late-race battle with McLaren's Lando Norris where he lost a chunk of time to the young driver on the fast-speed sections only to gain it back on the straights.

Talking about how his race went, Hamilton said:

"I wouldn't say I'm having fun. I mean, I'm racing for ninth, so I definitely can't say that. Finishing ninth is definitely not fun. But I am enjoying the actual racing part. And I was hunting, and I was pushing as hard as I could, I was maximizing everything I had with the car, I was right on the edge. It was just unfortunately really lacking performance in the high-speed, where they were walking all over us."

He added:

"But there are positives. The car is good in low speed. We have to add a lot of load in the high-speed. I think if we were able to do that then I think it puts us in the fight. But we've got some work to do."

Lewis Hamilton will be hoping for a reversal of fortunes soon as his current start to the 2024 F1 season has been his worst in the ground effect era.