This time, Giedo van der Garde offered some unfiltered words to the long-suffering seven-time world champion, warning: "He produces very, very little compared to Charles Leclerc."
But there's an even bigger problem, according to the Dutchman, and that is that Lewis Hamilton appears to be losing all confidence. This will push him even further down the slope:
"In Jeddah, we also saw what we've seen so far. He had no pace, nothing. Leclerc gained a second and a half to two per lap, and then he was dropped to 30 seconds behind. I think he doesn't really know where the front is anymore; he's really in serious trouble. His disadvantage is too great, and it seems more and more like he won't be able to overcome this charge alone. In addition, his confidence also seems to be waning, which is very unusual for him...
"This bodes very poorly for the rest of the season. He's, by nature, a driver who needs confidence and faith in the car, and those two things are nowhere to be seen. I don't think he'll be able to resolve this situation... As I said, if your teammate is 30 seconds ahead of you, that can be very demoralizing. With the exception of the sprint qualifying in China, he's finished behind Leclerc on every other occasion, and by a considerable margin. Leclerc has gotten into his own head and won't be leaving anytime soon," concluded Giedo van der Garde.
Photo: Formularapida
