Hamilton sees gloom: 'There's not much we can do'

For Mercedes, nothing at all seems to be working yet in Australia. In the second free practice, Lewis Hamilton and George Russell came no further than thirteenth and eleventh place respectively. Hamilton is therefore not very optimistic.

For Hamilton, the start of the 2022 F1 season must be frustrating. The seven-time world champion was so close to his eighth world title in 2021 with which he had broken Michael Schumacher's record, but was defeated in the final round by Max Verstappen. Whereas he had hoped to get another chance in 2022, that is not yet in the cards.

Mercedes in deep trouble

''It was a difficult session. Nothing we change on the car at the moment makes a difference. You start optimistic, make changes, but then it just doesn't seem to improve. We made some changes from the first to the second free practice, but VT1 was better for me,'' Hamilton told Sky Sports after the second free practice.

Hamilton doesn't see a quick fix for his team either. ''There's not much we can do now. This is how it is and we have to put up with it. That's the frustrating thing. You try to push and get everything out, but you're just 1.2s behind. It's hard,'' concludes a disillusioned Hamilton.