Hamilton two-year failure will 'eat at him'

Former F1 driver Christijan Albers believes Lewis Hamilton'sfailure to secure a race win in the past two seasons will "eat" atthe Mercedes driver. Seven-time World Champion Hamilton picked upthe last of his 103 race victories at the 2021 Saudi Arabian GrandPrix - the penultimate race of his epic tussle with Red Bull's MaxVerstappen. But Mercedes has struggled to compete for victoriessince the dawn of F1's new technical regulations, securing just onewin in the meantime, when George Russell won at the 2022 São PauloGrand Prix. It left Hamilton publically frustrated at times lastseason as Red Bull continued to dominate, though hopes are high anew development direction will prove fruitful this term. Hamilton'looked quite frustrated' “For the neutral observer, I hope thatMercedes will come with a better car in 2024,” said Albers, writingin his column for De Telegraaf . “Because if you look purely at thequalities of the current drivers, I think Lewis Hamilton is theonly one who can come close to Verstappen. “I am mainly talkingabout the quality of being able to perform consistently and be verystable in lap times during a race. Just like Verstappen, Hamiltonis someone who can manage his tyres wonderfully. Assessing certainsituations, feeling the rubber; in that respect they are alone.”“Hamilton looked quite frustrated at the end of the season,” Albersobserved. “I can imagine that too. “Sure, he’s had years where hebeat everyone, but has now gone two full seasons without a win.That’s going to eat at you. “He wants more and more, but struggleswith the fact that the Mercedes is not going faster. Then at theend of the year, you are exhausted and tired. He hasn’t had thatboost that you need for a while.”