Lewis Hamilton thinks the new Mercedes car is cursed after his struggles in the Australian Grand Prix, it has been claimed.
The 39-year-old was unable to finish the race at Albert Park, with team-mate George Russell also forced to withdraw.
It compounded a nightmare star to the season for the Stevenage-born racer, who has toiled during the first three events of the campaign.
After the race, Hamilton complained about his W15 car - insisting the vehicle feels similar to last year.
Lewis Hamilton feels the Mercedes car is 'cursed' amid his issues in F1 this season
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Mercedes chief Toto Wolff, contrastingly, has attempted to find the positives.
And Sky Sports pundit Ted Kravitz thinks Hamilton believes the car is 'cursed', while also expressing a belief the driver and Wolff aren't on the same page.
“I thought it was optimistic that Toto Wolff still believes that this car is somehow going to get there, because clearly, I don’t think Lewis Hamilton believes it," he wrote in his notebook.
“I think Lewis Hamilton thinks it’s cursed with the same bad handling characteristics, especially in the rear of the car that last year’s car, and the car the year before it, had as well.
“Clearly this car is still not right.
“Toto when I spoke to him said, ‘I still think we can make it right’.
“But Lewis pretty much wrote off this year’s World Championship.
"I know you’re going to say to me, ‘Yeah, anyone not in a Red Bull is not going to win this year’s World Championship’. But there are 21 races still to go.
“Okay it is obvious Lewis is not going to win the championship and it might not be the golden goodbye to Mercedes before he goes to Ferrari.
"But he can still score podiums and win races.”
Hamilton's worst start to an F1 season came back in 2009.
But this year has been even more shambolic for the seven-time champion.
And Hamilton, speaking after the race in Australia, said it was 'tough' for the entire team to take after tweaking their vehicle in pre-season.
"It's the worst start to a season I've ever had. It's worse than 2009," he said.
"It's tough on the spirit for everyone in the team when so much work has been going on over the winter.
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Toto Wolff is trying to maintain optimism despite Mercedes enduring a difficult start to the F1 season
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"You come in excited, driven and motivated, with the mindset you're going to be fighting for wins, then that's not the case.
"Then you think 'okay, maybe second or third' and that's not the case and it cascades a bit further down and you go through the motions.
"It's challenging. I continue to be inspired by the people I've worked with and continue to put in the effort and show up. That's the most important thing."
Hamilton also insists he's trying to stay positive and keep things in 'perspective' as he looks to turn his form around.
"Surprisingly I feel pretty good. I'm trying to keep things in perspective. It could be so much worse," he added.
Lewis Hamilton insists the current F1 season is 'worse than 2009'
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"I really enjoyed my time in Australia and I'm still enjoying working with the team. Of course, I would love to be fighting for wins and actually finishing races.
"It's never great to end a race this way. But what I know is we will bounce back and eventually get there, we just have to continue to push."
