Wolff reveals the cause of the long-standing battle for Hamilton

Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff has revealed why Lewis Hamilton has had so many problems since the current regulations were introduced.

Since the introduction of the ground effect era in 2022, Hamilton has rarely been able to produce consistently strong performances.

The seven-time world champion failed to secure a race win in 2022 and 2023 before returning to winning ways twice this year at his home race and at the Belgian Grand Prix.

Over the last three seasons, George Russell has tended to have an advantage over the 39-year-old, which was clearly evident in the final rounds.

Hamilton has had no answer to Russell’s pace in the final triple-header of the year after seeing his compatriot win in Las Vegas.

Building on Sin City, Russell will start the Qatar Grand Prix from pole position, while Hamilton had to settle for sixth place in qualifying.

According to Wolff, the current era of F1 cars does not suit Hamilton’s driving style, which triggered his difficult spell.

“For Lewis, this generation of car doesn’t always suit his driving style, he likes to be aggressive on corner entries and unfortunately this car can’t quite handle that at the moment, especially in qualifying laps when it’s right on the edge,” Wolff said.

“However, Lewis usually manages to make the turn in the race, like last week when he overtook one car after another and made his way through the field.”

“We’ll see what tomorrow brings and hope that we can deliver another good result for the team with both cars.”