“That is precisely his weakness, he is spoilt": Lewis Hamilton has a ‘problem’ that his Mercedes teammate George Russell doesn’t, says F1 presenter

German Formula 1 journalist Marc Surer has suggested a flaw in Lewis Hamilton's racing acumen that has supposedly been holding him back when compared to teammate George Russell in the ongoing campaign.

Hamilton's dip in form after missing out on the 2021 F1 Drivers' Championship to Max Verstappen has been unforseen. The seven-time World Champion is yet to win a single race since the 2021 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. After two tumultuous seasons with Mercedes, the British driver announced his decision to depart from the team at the end of the 2024 season to join Ferrari.

As he competes in his final season with the German outfit, Hamilton's first three races in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Australia have been less than impressive. The Brit finds himself in 10th position following his latest DNF in Australia.

Meanwhile, his Mercedes teammate and compatriot George Russell has outpaced the 39-year-old in all three races of the season, raising eyebrows surrounding Hamilton's performances.

Weighing in on the situation, former driver and presenter Marc Surer has suggested that Hamilton's reliance on driving the best cars throughout his career has left him ill-equipped to deal with vehicles that do not perform to his exact specifications.

Surer told formula1.de on their YouTube channel:

"Lewis has only ever driven the best cars. That means that if the car doesn’t do what Lewis wants, then he has a problem. And that’s exactly how it is again at the moment."

Citing the upswing in Lewis Hamilton's form following the W13 upgrades that were introduced by Mercedes during the COTA weekend last campaign, Surer added:

"Remember: at the end of last year, when the car got better, the old Lewis was suddenly back again. That is precisely his weakness, that he is perhaps simply spoilt."

"He’s always been in the best team in Formula 3 and Formula 2, which means it’s completely normal for him that the car behaves exactly the way he wants it to," said Surer.

Marc Surer compares Lewis Hamilton to Fernando Alonso and George Russell

Surer compared Hamilton to drivers like Fernando Alonso and George Russell. Highlighting Russell's past experience with teams like Williams F1, Surer believes that his capabilities to adapt to less-than-ideal conditions gives him an edge over Hamilton when the car is not performing optimally.

Surer said in the aforementioned interview:

"If the car is not good, then Russell drives better, because he has had to struggle for years with this Williams with a car that is relatively poorly positioned."

"And Russell can live with compromises, just like [Fernando] Alonso. These are people who can simply adapt to the car."

According to Surer, Lewis Hamilton's tendency to struggle when faced with a challenging car is contrasting when compared to his ability to excel in a competitive vehicle. He said:

"If he has to fight with the car, then he loses. On the other hand, if the car is good, then he surpasses himself. That’s the ability to practically outclass the opposition. At the moment when the car is exactly the way you want it to be."

After three races in the ongoing season, Hamilton has notched up eight points.