LEWIS HAMILTON’S bad start to the season has been down to “bad luck”, claims Damon Hill.
The Mercedes superstar already finds himself well off the pace after four races, sitting 58 points behind early leader Charles Leclerc.
Lewis Hamilton and George Russell chat to fans in Miami
Hamilton, 37, has also been outperformed by new team-mate George Russell, with the 24-year-old having already amassed 21 more points than the seven-time world champion.
Hill doesn’t feel that Hamilton has performed poorly, however, and instead prefers to praise Russell.
Speaking to F1 Nation, the 61-year-old said: “He’s [Russell] done an absolutely brilliant job and is looking strong.
“I think Lewis has been a little unlucky and I think he’s been delving around and [has] been happy to play the guy who tries the experimental setup for Mercedes a bit because he’s got more experience with them.
Read More F1 Stories
“So perhaps he’s gone the wrong way sometimes and that has made him look worse off than he really is against George, but George is definitely doing a sterling job – and I think that’s a very firm foundation for him going forward.
“He’s not humiliated Lewis in any way, I don’t think.
“I don’t see it like that, I think Lewis is maybe a little bit downhearted as well, and George is very keen to establish himself.”
Mercedes sit third in the constructor standings, already trailing Ferrari by 47 points.
SUN BINGO GET £50 BONUS & 50 FREE SPINS TODAY
Their start to the season has been undermined by severe porpoising issues in their much-maligned W13 car.
Despite their woes, Hill doesn’t believe you can write off the eight-time defending constructor champions.
He added: “Would you completely rule out Mercedes? I mean, they’ve got a lot to think about but, perhaps, they could throw themselves into the pot.
“They again have even less resources that they can use because they’ve had so much success, so they’re actually on the limit almost with how much development, wind tunnel, all the rest of it, they can do and financial resources.
“They’re almost a second off the pace, but that’s because they can’t get their car low enough, and they can’t get their car low enough because of this porpoising.”
Hamilton, Russell and Co will be back in action this weekend, as the F1 season arrives Stateside for the inaugural Miami Grand Prix.
Read More on SE
Both have been enjoying themselves in the build-up to the event.
Hamilton has struck up a bromance with NFL legend Tom Brady, while Russell attended a Miami Heat NBA play-offs game.
