Lewis Hamilton admits Mercedes 'missing something' after a tough Friday in the 2023 F1 British GP

Lewis Hamilton has admitted that Mercedes seems to be 'missing something' in the car that has affected the overall balance. Throughout Friday, in both the free practice sessions, the two drivers continued to struggle with the car whenever it was pushed over a lap.

Neither George Russell nor Hamilton were able to hook a lap together on qualifying simulations and struggled a lot. Things appeared to take a turn for the worse when the Mercedes duo attempted its first qualifying simulation on soft tires.

Neither of the two drivers were able to crack the top 10 and were more than a second slower than the benchmark.

Looking back at the Friday that Mercedes had, Lewis Hamilton told Sky Sports that the car was just tough to drive and Mercedes was missing something.

"It's a tough car to drive. No matter what we do to set it up, it continues to be a tough car to drive. On a single lap, I didn't feel any improvement between tyres, which shows something is wrong. We are missing something. The long run didn't seem to be too bad, so that's a positive at least."

With rain expected to play a role, it will be interesting to see if it helps in the reversal of fortunes for the team.

Lewis Hamilton gets a reprimand at the start of the weekend

F1 Grand Prix of Great Britain - Practice

Lewis Hamilton had a somewhat unceremonious start to the weekend on Friday. The driver was reprimanded by the stewards for turning up late to the press conference. In the official report released by the FIA, it was stated:

“The stewards received a report from the Media Delegate that the driver of Car 44 (Lewis Hamilton) was late for the Thursday press conference. The stewards heard from the team representative and determined that the driver was indeed late for the press conference. The team representative noted that his driver’s schedule was controlled by the team, and given that this was his home race, the schedule was extremely busy.

“In addition, it is difficult for Hamilton to move through the paddock. While the stewards understand this to be the case, it is also true that this is an activity required by the regulations, that late attendance is disruptive to the press conference, and that there is significant interest by the media in talking to the drivers who’s access is limited."

It's not been the best of starts to a weekend for Lewis Hamilton. He will be hoping that things get better from Saturday onwards.