After Mercedes failed to get at least one of its cars into Q3 for the first time since the 2012 Japanese Grand Prix, Hamilton co🐓uld only finish 14th - three places behind teammate George Russell - in Saturday’s Emilia Romagna Grand Prix sprint race. 

Despite Mer꧃cedes' miserable start to the season amid its struggles to get on top of its uncompetitive W13 challenger, the seven-time world champion rejected the♓ suggestion the Silver Arrows find themselves in completely new territory this year. 

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“The team has been through many, man🥃y bad years,” Hamilton said. “Most o🦋f the people I’m working with have been here 20 years. It wasn’t the greatest of years in 2013 but we’ve had great years since then. 

“We stick together and try to motivate everyone. This is the situation we are faced with. Everyone h🍷as got their heads down and working as har𒈔d as they can. 

“We are obviously not fighting for t🔴he championship but we are fighting to unde💫rstand the car, improve and progress through the year. 

“That’s all we can hope for, right now.” 

Asked what Mercedes can take from what is shaping up to be another difficu�🍨�lt weekend, Hamilton replied: “We have got data. A lot of work is going on in the background. But this is what it is, it is what we have. 

🎐“Ultimately, we haven’t got it right this year but everyone is working hard tꦺo correct it.” 

Mercedes' F1 challenge is 'behind where it deserves to be’ 

Russell sat 12th for much of the sprint race after dropping behind Mick Schumacher’s Haas at the s꧅tart but finished 11th after pulling off a late pass on Aston Martin driver Sebastian Vettel. 

The Briton believes Mercedes “prob﷽ably overachieved” in the first three races of the season but thinks the team would have been in a better position had it not been hampered by tyre warm-up issues during the cool conditions seen in Friday qualifying. 

“It has clearly been a dif🌸ficult weekend for us,” Russell admitted. “We probably overachieved in the first three races and this weekend we are probably behind where we deserve to be. 

“I think we know why the tyrꦓe warm-up has been so difficult. Yesterday it was only 13 degrees and we saw the Haas’ excel and 🦋the McLaren’s. 

“We have got to strike and find a balance somewhere but there is nothing we c💟an really do for tomorrow - we will just capitalise where possible.”

He added: “We have got work to do. The caඣr is faster but we just don’t hav💝e the speed on the straights to actually move forwards. 

“We have small kinks on these straights and t🙈here’s only one overtaking opportunities and that ha🧔lted us.” 

Russell reckons running an alternate strategy could prove to&nb🧸sp;be Mercedes’ best bet of moving forwards in Sunday’s grand prix.&nb⛎sp;

“I think strategy will be key and I think we have to do something different to our compet𒉰ition,” he said. 

“That will give us the opportunity to fight and to move up the grid. I’m sure we will understan﷽d more tonight but it is going to be tricky.”