Lewis Hamilton says Mercedes can only win in Saudi Arabia if top six cars retire

The seven-time world champion implored Mercedes to ‘make some bold decisions’ ahead of the race in Jeddah

Lewis Hamilton believes three teams – Red Bull, Ferrari and Aston Martin – will have to retire in order for Mercedes to win at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix this weekend.

Mercedes, so dominant in Formula 1 from 2014-2021 with eight Constructors’ Championships, had a season to forget in 2022 as new regulations caught them out and they finished third in the standings.

The Silver Arrows endured a disastrous start in the opening race of 2023 in Bahrain, with Toto Wolff insisting they will have to ditch their unique “zero-pod” philosophy in order to be competitive again. Hamilton finished fifth, while team-mate George Russell came home a lowly seventh.

And Hamilton – who last won an F1 race at the Jeddah track in December 2021, 24 grand prix ago – admitted it was a “shock” when he first drove the W14 car last month, acknowledging that three teams are currently ahead of them.

“Once I drove the car for the first time, you start to do that [re-assess goals] with the challenges you’re facing,” the 38-year-old said.

“It’s a similar situation to last year - it’s a shock when the car isn’t where you want it to be but you have 100% faith in the people you work with. We’re not where we want to be and we need to keep working on it.

“We need the Red Bulls and Ferraris not to finish the race, maybe the Astons too, to be winning [ourselves]. It doesn’t mean we can’t catch them up - no one at this team has shied away from a challenge.”

The seven-time world champion also implored the team to “make some bold decisions”, hinting at a fresh car approach given the shortcomings in Bahrain, while regretting stating that the team “didn’t listen to him” about changes to the W14.

Lewis Hamilton believes three teams – Red Bull, Ferrari and Aston Martin – will have to retire in order for Mercedes to win the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix (Getty Images)

“In hindsight, it wasn’t the best choice of words,” Hamilton admitted.

“There are times you’re not in agreement with certain team members but we continue to communicate. I have 100% belief in this team, they’re family, I have no intention of going anywhere else.

“But the proof is in the pudding and we have to now make some bold decisions and big moves to close the gap to these guys.

“They [Red Bull] most probably will run away with it this year unless Ferrari can stop them. At some point in the year. we hope to close the gap but it’ll probably be too late for a Championship.”

Max Verstappen, meanwhile, was not present for media duties in Saudi Arabia having experienced a stomach bug this week, though the Red Bull driver is expected to be in the cockpit for practice on Friday.