Mercedes boss addresses Lewis Hamilton's 'See how I'm driving this thing' team radio

The recently concluded Azerbaijan Grand Prix at Baku was a race to forget for Lewis Hamilton. The Mercedes driver struggled with his W-15 throughout the race weekend, and despite fitting a new Power Unit, his issue seemed far from resolved. Complaining about his car during the race, Hamilton hit out at his team on the radio and now Toto Wolff has addressed the seven-time world champion's issue a couple of days after the race.

Hamilton endured a difficult race at Baku City Circuit, where he struggled with his car's balance, set-up, and pace. Despite starting the weekend on a good note with decent performances in FP1 and FP2, things went downhill for him as the weekend progressed.

The 39-year-old found it difficult to get going on the heavily grained track at Baku, and eventually, he termed it a 'horror race.' During a point in the 51-lap race, he radioed his race engineer Peter Bonnington, and said, "See how I'm having to drive this thing?"

Addressing the issue, Wolff responded in a media interaction (as reported by Planet F1):

"We knew it was going to be a race of misery because it’s so difficult to overtake in Baku, and that’s what it was. The moment you come close, you overheat the tyres and then you go backwards, so that’s what happened to him."

The Briton qualified in P7 on Saturday's qualifying but started the race at the back of the pack. Mercedes took a new Power Unit for Hamilton, triggering a grid penalty. Even after taking the PU, and learning the lessons from Saturday's qualifying, Hamilton's day did not improve drastically.

In the end, he came home in P9, thanks to Sergio Perez and Carlos Sainz's collision in the penultimate lap. Without the crash, and Yuki Tsunoda's DNF, Lewis Hamilton was well outside the points.

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Lewis Hamilton explained the issues he faced in Azerbaijan

BAKU, AZERBAIJAN - SEPTEMBER 15: Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain driving the (44) Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team W15. Credit: Getty Images

Following the conclusion of the race, Lewis Hamilton touched upon the difficulties he faced in Baku. In the post-race interview, he explained how erratic the W-15 was during the race. He stated:

“It was the worst balance I’ve probably ever had – one of the worst balances. Basically, I had so much front end but no rears. It’s not the way you drive. I had to yank the steering to break the traction from the front, and slide the front through every corner."

"It’s the weirdest way I had to drive. I knew that I wouldn’t be able to overtake. It’s difficult to follow in the middle, at least be close at the end. I don’t know why our pace was so bad on our side. It happens."

Hamilton has picked up two victories this season, one in Great Britain, and the other in Belgium. He is currently placed in the P6 of the Drivers' Championship with 166 points, 23 points ahead of his teammate, George Russell.