Each and every Formula 1 fan is waiting with bated breath to witness the resurgence of Lewis Hamilton. The man who dominated the turbo-hybrid era of this sport looks like a shadow of his former self. And the 2023 Japanese GP Qualifying session today was a testament to this fact. For tomorrow’s hotly anticipated race, the Brit will start from P7. At Mercedes, the goalpost has been shifting each year to the next to see a turnaround in their fortunes. Now, the 7x champion himself can be blamed for this lackluster attitude.

Like the Silver Arrows, this time around, Red Bull has set the benchmark since the 2022 season. With the Dutch lion Max Verstappen at the helm of driving operations, that benchmark is alarmingly high. Or so would Lewis Hamilton have you believe.

Lewis Hamilton crushingly writes another year off

For all intents and purposes, the 2023 season is written off in the books of Mercedes and Hamilton. The only thing they can do is look forward to the 2024 season. With the regulation reset still fresh, every year is a relatively clean slate for the teams to move up the grid. However, as things stand at Suzuka, Hamilton isn’t too optimistic.

The Brit who has just signed a new 2-year deal with Mercedes has already written 2024 off. After a dismal Qualifying, where is rival Verstappen obliterated the opposition to claim pole, Hamilton was quoted as saying, “We’re one second away. It’s like, crazy. To close that gap before next year, at this point to still be a second down on a track like this is definitely worrying for us as a team.”

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His attitude would have you believe he his hopelessly lost. But in reality, however, the Brit has the answers to Mercedes’ struggles. The solution to them, though, isn’t a straightforward matter.

Hamilton pinpoints the biggest problem with Mercedes’ F1 fortunes

Winning in Formula 1, and being the very best, isn’t a stroll in the park. And while Mercedes has often shown some sparks of pace, it is exactly this fact that has the Brit concerned for the future of his team and his legacy in this sport.

Hamilton was quoted by Sky Sports F1 as explaining, “Yesterday was a bad day. Each weekend we are having, out of the three days… at least one bad day.” It would seem as though consistency is what the W13 is lacking.

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But having exhausted their quota of bad days at the 2023 Japanese GP, do Lewis Hamilton & Co. have a surprise for us tomorrow as the Brit aims to reclaim his throne from Max Verstappen?