- Mercedes
Hamilton not happy with his 2013 performances
Lewis Hamilton says he has failed to deliver to his usual expectations this season after struggling to get to grips with this year's Mercedes.
Hamilton is currently fourth in the drivers' standings and his only victory this year came at the Hungarian Grand Prix in July. In all of his previous years in Formula One he has taken at least two victories per season, but if recent results are anything to go by it is unlikely he will match that at the final two races.
"Ultimately, I'm not particularly happy with this performance," he said. "I'm very happy with the team's performance and what the team has been able to achieve, and the development and hard work that has gone in has been remarkable. They have really delivered this year, but for whatever reason, whether it's just because it's a new car, I've not got on well with it."
Hamilton has scored five pole positions this year, and was on for a front row grid position at the last race in Abu Dhabi before he had a rear suspension failure. He said he is at a loss to explain why his one-lap pace does not translate into race pace.
"It really is very confusing for me. I was half a second up on my [Abu Dhabi qualifying] lap and I would, unless I had made a mistake, 100% been on the front row and the position would have been different. But still going into the race ... I don't know what happened or what it is. A lot of races it's been like that and with what we have it's difficult to overtake."
Hamilton is planning to put in hard work over the winter to ensure he does not have similar issues with next year's car.
"I'm just hoping that next year, with the tyres and the car, I can do some work over the winter and make the car work for me a bit better."
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