Lewis Hamilton is calm about what could happen to Mercedes if they are hauled before a Formula One tribunal to explain their secret tyre test, but he is worried about his own form.
“I’m not concerned about it, that’s for the team to worry about,” the 2008 world champion said of his team’s apparent breaking of a ban on in-season testing by putting in 1,000 km with Pirelli in Spain.
“I just have to focus on myself and try and get my s*** together,” he told reporters after Sunday’s Monaco Grand Prix.
Hamilton started on the front row and finished fourth behind team mate Nico Rosberg who won from pole. It was the second race in a row the Briton had started in second place and failed to make the podium.
In Spain — where he finished 12th — it was all about the tyres “dropping off” dramatically in performance, but in Monaco it was more about Hamilton.
With Mercedes deciding to pit both drivers once the safety car had been deployed for the first time, Hamilton was told to keep a six-second gap to ensure a smooth stop without losing places. But he slowed down too much and slipped behind Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber.
Hamilton apologised to the team for the loss of what might have been a one-two finish and vowed to work harder. “I don’t put it down to bad luck. I just wasn’t good enough over the weekend. The whole weekend has been a missed opportunity,” he said.
“I’ve got lots to sort out on my side of the garage, and within myself, and I’ll take time to do that. I’m not quick enough, not on it enough, so I need to get on it.”
After qualifying on what remains one of his favourite tracks, Hamilton had shed more light on the problems he is having in his first season at Mercedes after what seemed like a lifetime at McLaren.