Is Hamilton just unlucky? Mercedes boss Toto Wolff says he just needs a bit more luck

Is Lewis Hamilton just unlucky? Mercedes boss Toto Wolff believes so. In his words, it is just bad luck that is preventing him from matching his teammate. He has beaten Hamilton in every race so far, apart from the season opener in Bahrain.

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff says Hamilton’s luck has deserted him. The seven-time world champion also said in recent times that he would be happy if he also got lucky at least sometimes.

The question remains whether Hamilton has chosen him over the last few years of his career, having won six championships since 2014. This is also true of the Mercedes stable itself. After all, the German constructor has been the king of the Constructors’ Cup continuously since the 2014 season.

Though of course, luck is a relative term. Hamilton’s life is currently made more difficult by the fact that he keeps losing to his teammate George Russell. The latter joined Mercedes this year as a replacement for Valtteri Bottas, who headed to Alfa Romeo.

Russell, it should be noted, has been associated with Mercedes for years, so his arrival was no surprise. And it should also be noted, Russell is making a strong impression with his performances.

Few would have predicted before the season that Russell would beat his teammate in every race. Except for the season opener in Bahrain, where Hamilton finished third and Russell fourth.

But that was the first and last time Hamilton would beat Russell in a race this year. The following race in Saudi Arabia, Russell crossed the finish line fifth in the standings, while Hamilton was only tenth.

In Australia, the twenty-four year old talented driver even scored a podium (3rd), with the now legendary British driver finishing just one position behind him. The Imola race was particularly disastrous for Hamilton (14th), while Russell scored a further twelve points for fourth place.

In Miami, the Mercedes drivers took positions 5 and 6, but again in the order of Russell, Hamilton. Subsequently, in Spain, Russell scored another podium (again 3rd), Hamilton had to slow down due to a technical fault in the hybrid system, while Carlos Sainz in a Ferrari overtook him and the seven-time champion finished 5th.

And at the last Monaco Grand Prix, Russell took another fifth place, while Hamilton was virtually stuck behind an Alpine car for the entire race, whether it was Esteban Ocon or Fernando Alonso, and finished eighth.

It should be added, Mercedes, especially in the first five races, struggled significantly with porpoising, with Hamilton often complaining about the different and completely unsatisfactory set-up of his monoposto coupled with difficult handling.

It was only the new technical package that Mercedes brought to Barcelona that helped the Mercedes W13 to make some amends.

However, the Mercedes boss believes that it is just bad luck that is preventing Hamilton from matching his younger teammate, who has clearly come to terms with the arrival of F1’s new era much more quickly.

“In Monaco qualifying, Lewis lost out to George because of red flags when he failed to complete his flying lap. Contact came with Ocon in the race and he was stuck behind Fernando Alonso. So once these unfortunate situations stop for Lewis, he and George will have the same pace,” Wolff explained in an interview with F1.

F1, Motorsport