F1: Lewis Hamilton slams Mercedes performance in Bahrain, urges immediate improvement

Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton did not hesitate to show his disappointment in his Mercedes after managing to finish only in fifth place at the Bahrain Grand Prix on Sunday.

It was clear during testing and free practice ahead of the season-opening race that Mercedes are not on the same level as reigning world champions Red Bull Racing and last year's runners-up, Scuderia Ferrari. However, after the first race at the Bahrain International circuit, it became clear that Mercedes may also be behind Aston Martin.

Speaking about his fifth-place finish, Hamilton admitted that his car's pace is simply "not there at the moment." What's even more disappointing is that he crossed the line a staggering 51 seconds behind race winner Max Verstappen.

The second Red Bull of Sergio Perez finished in second place, and Alonso's Aston Martin made an astonishing run to third place. While the Spaniard's podium position was helped by the retirement of Charles Leclerc's Ferrari, he made most of his progress on the track on sheer pace.

Alonso dropped from fifth to seventh behind the Mercedes cars in the opening lap after getting tagged by his teammate, but he managed to overtake both Russell and Hamilton and Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz to make it up the order.

Hamilton tried to defend against Alonso through a series of corners, but it became very clear that the 41-year-old simply had a much faster car and the overtake was inevitable.

"I gave it absolutely everything," said Hamilton. The Briton then admitted that despite their lack of pace, the race result was actually better than they had feared. "It was much better with the qualifying and I am happy with my performance. There's not much more I could have done. Set the car up differently maybe? But overall just lacking performance," he lamented.

Hamilton then elaborated more on what was causing the car's problems. "We are lacking downforce and we have just got to work really hard to try and add that ASAP. Anything that is in the wind tunnel, we need it tomorrow. We need to push massively to close that gap," he said.

"I had so much understeer at the beginning, I took so much wing out, I couldn't get around some of the corners, and I just couldn't keep up with the guys ahead," explained Hamilton, as quoted by Formula1.com.

He added that Mercedes are now clearly the fourth team, and that they have moved backwards since last season. Even though they are third in the standings after race one, Ferrari were clearly faster and missed out on the points because Leclerc had engine trouble and had to retire.

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff called the Bahrain Grand Prix "one of the worst days in racing" for Mercedes. He admitted that it stings more considering how much further ahead the Red Bulls were. In retrospect, he shared that he is finally seeing what it must have felt like for other teams when Mercedes decimated the field for eight straight season. "We need to come back and we can absolutely do that," added Wolff.

Red Bull Racing are now 20 points ahead in the Constructors' Championship, but they know quite well that it is a long season and anything can happen. They started 2022 with a double retirement and at one point Leclerc had a 40-point lead in the Drivers' Championship before the tide turned in favour of the Austrian outfit.

Mercedes also improved significantly throughout the previous campaign and although they are sitting at a disadvantage right now, a lot of upgrades can still come in the next ten months. Ferrari are already facing future grid penalties after Leclerc's engine failure, and Red Bull have to keep their competitors at bay despite having less time with the wind tunnel this year.