Lewis Hamilton claims he was shot as Mercedes star says 'compromises don't work in F1'

Former F1 driver Jean Alesi has dismissed Lewis Hamilton's claims that Mercedes can turn the tide and beat both Red Bull and Ferrari to claim a Grand Prix victory before the end of the 2022 season. to an improvement in the Silver Arrows' form in recent races, the seven-time world champion said he "really believes" his team can win this campaign, but Alesi has now objected that "compromises don't work in F1 ".

After years of dominance that included eight successive Constructors' World Championship titles, Mercedes endured a desperate season after being significantly affected by porpoising in F1's new ground effect era. However, despite a series of miserable results at the start of the season, updates to the team's W13 car have resulted in improved on-track performance in recent races.

Hamilton and Russell took back-to-back podiums in France and Hungary in their last two outings before the summer break of the season, with the latter also taking pole last time out in Budapest. Based on these improvements, Hamilton's previous prediction that Mercedes can win a race this season looks increasingly likely to come true, but it seems not everyone is so optimistic.

Alesi, a former Ferrari, Benetton and Sauber driver who racked up more than 200 Grand Prix appearances during his career, dismissed the Briton's claim, insisting that if improvements can help a car , they "will not solve it". The Frenchman told GiveMeSport: "From experience, when a car is born with problems, you're not able to fix it.

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"You can compromise, but compromise in Formula 1 doesn't work, you know. I don't really believe they are capable of being a winning team, winning Grands Prix, before the end of the championship under normal circumstances."

While Alesi admitted his shock at Mercedes' mediocrity at the start of the season, the 58-year-old expressed his admiration for the way Hamilton and Russell have recovered from their setbacks. He added: "Seeing Lewis driving a car like that was embarrassing at times as Lewis is a seven time world champion.

"But to see his ability to further improve the car, it was impressive. In Hungary, it was fantastic to see George on pole position and Lewis fighting in front."

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