Hamilton tempers expectations of Mercedes: 'It's different this year'

Lewis Hamilton has invariably fought for winning the world championship in recent years, but is struggling ahead of the new season. The British driver fears that Mercedes will not be able to compete directly for pole position from the first race, he told the official website of Formula 1.

With the new regulations in place from 2022, the FIA is forcing Formula 1 teams to make a lot of adjustments to the cars. It means that they have to start virtually from scratch, making it a tough challenge for the teams. Mercedes did not make a great impression during the test days.

Hamilton therefore fears a difficult start to the season. "Obviously next week we will get a much better showing of our pace, but I think [other] people will surprise maybe," Hamilton stated. "People keep talking about us talking ourselves down, but it’s a bit different this year."

Mercedes previously admitted ruefully that it still has a long way to go. Andrew Shovlin, for example, indicated that the German racing stable can still make plenty of strides to increase speed and thereby compete for the world title.