24 April 2023 , 14:48
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A former Formula 1 team boss has criticised Lewis Hamilton, calling him a "spoiled little boy" for being a "whiner" about his team's problems this season.
Mercedes have had a difficult start to the 2023 campaign and are currently trailing 67 points behind leaders Red Bull in the constructors' standings after just three races. The Silver Arrows have carried problems from 2022 into the new season and are not as competitive as they would want.
Speaking to Spanish publication El Confidencial, Joan Villadelprat, who worked for McLaren and Ferrari among other teams in his long F1 career, was left unimpressed by Hamilton's attitude.
"Hamilton is fed up and, if he doesn't win, he's like a spoiled little boy," said the Spaniard. "He's a whiner, you know? The tyres, the strategy – he questions everything and he has screwed up. When you have a [team-mate] who is faster than you, it is normal to be quiet and put your head under your wing."
Team-mate George Russell has out qualified Hamilton on three successive occasions, even leading the early stages of the Australian Grand Prix before being forced to retire from the race due to an engine failure.
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Former Benetton team manager Villadelprat also mentioned he was surprised how well Russell has been doing this season – insisting Hamilton has not lost his talent, but instead questioning the 38-year-old's motivation.
Joan Villadelprat was a team manager of the Benetton F1 team (Getty Images)He added: "I think he hasn't lost but, after seven titles... What motivates you? Well, win another. And you're not going to risk your skin if you don't have that car. What is evident is that Hamilton is not the same as his first or second championship."
Unsurprisingly, Villadelprat heaped praised upon his fellow Spaniard Fernando Alonso. He asserted the Aston Martin racer, who is enjoying a remarkable career renaissance this season, previously had the potential to be better than his old McLaren team-mate Hamilton.
He said: "One has won seven, and the other two, and Fernando knows that he could have won more, that he has the potential to be ahead of Hamilton. Except that Fernando's choices were not correct and Hamilton was right. But the desire that Fernando has... The best of all is that now people – Formula 1, and other drivers – they recognise him as a phenomenon."