Hamilton refuses to blame Mercedes after poor P14 in Imola sprint

Lewis Hamilton had a difficult sprint race, finishing in 14th place, three spots below his new teammate George Russell. The 37-year-old driver is trying to stay positive at the Imola circuit despite Mercedes' lack of pace.

"We have data (to push car forward). A lot of work is going on in the background and it is what it is and what we have. We haven't got it right this year but everyone is working as hard as they can to correct it." Hamilton refused to discount his team after what was for him a disappointing sprint race. The Briton started 13th and crossed the finish line after losing a place.

Hamilton remains positive

The fact that things are still not going smoothly in 2022 is not nice, but according to Hamilton, Mercedes knowshow to deal with setbacks. "The team has been through many, many bad years. So, most of the people that I am working with has been with the team for more than 20 years so they have been through it," said the seven-time world champion. In doing so, he cites that 2013, for example, was also far from a perfect season.

"It wasn't the greatest of years in 2013 but we have had greater years since then and we stick together and try to motivate everyone and this is the situation we are faced with everyone has their heads down and everyone is working as hard as they can. We are not fighting for this championship, we are fighting to understand the car and try to improve and progress through the year that is all we can hope for right now." he concluded to Sky Sports.