"I didn't get the feeling he was really up for it": F1 pundit speculates Lewis Hamilton's motivation wasn't there for the F1 Abu Dhabi GP

F1 pundit Mark Hughes has spoken about how Lewis Hamilton was not too excited during the 2023 F1 Abu Dhabi GP. Although the Brit had a better season than last year, he was still not too happy with the Mercedes W14. Hughes dissected Hamilton's performance and how the driver struggled a bit with the tire temperatures during the race.

Hughes explained how Hamilton, similar to Carlos Sainz, was not getting the same confidence in his car due to low grip and tire temperatures not being in sync.

"Yeah it was big [performance gap]. There was an element of the...like we talked about Sainz, you are just not getting past that threshold and not having the confidence in the car because it has not got the grip, which in turn means you haven't got the tire temperatures. There was a bit of that going on," he said on the Race F1 podcast.

Hughes also felt Hamilton was simply not up for the challenge at the Abu Dhabi GP and speculated that the Mercedes driver could have pushed harder if the car had pace. The F1 pundit went on to claim that Hamilton simply looked worn down and did not really bother to race harder.

"But I didn't get the feeling from Lewis this weekend that he was really up for it. I think, had the car been quick, yes, that would have switched him one, but I think after the season they have had, that he has had, its just gives the impression of being worn down. And when you are presented with a situation like this and it's the last race, it does not really mean anything for him and the car," Hughes added.

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Lewis Hamilton on the unpredictability of Mercedes W14

Lewis Hamilton was not happy with the unpredictability of the Mercedes W14 throughout the 2023 F1 season.

Speaking to the media, including Sportskeeda, the seven-time world champion explained how the car has been extremely unpredictable in terms of what it would do the moment a driver hits the brakes and turns into a corner.

“Just a very been a very unpredictable car, its been the same all year. It’s not more consistent as before, per corner to the moment you hit the brakes, the moment you turn to the moment you hit the apex, its definitely out of balance. Its very hard to predict what’s going to happen,” Hamilton said.

Lewis Hamilton ended the season with 234 points in the drivers' championship table, finishing third.