Hamilton: Mercedes More Enjoyable To Drive But It Still Needs To Change

Friday, 08 December 2023 at 09:00

Mercedes Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton recently shared there has been positive progress with W14 throughout the season, but he wants next year's car to be different.

The seven-time World Champion just finished the second season in his whole F1 career without a single Grand Prix victory. The main problem to blame has been the Mercedes W14 car.

Unfortunately, Mercedes missed the ideal concept of the car for the second season in a row, and the team lacked too much pace on Red Bull to be able to compete for the race wins.

Hamilton complained about his Mercedes multiple times throughout the season, saying he did not only believe it wasn't a Championship-winning car but also that the W14 wasn't even a race-winning car. On the other hand, he recently told the media:

"There have been a few positives, such as getting pole position in Budapest, which we didn't think was going to be possible when I first drove the car."

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The seven-time World Champion praised the upgrade introduced by Mercedes in Austria. He explained the car actually got better throughout the season.

"The upgrade that we saw in Austria, and the fact that with a couple more laps, we could have been in shooting range for a win, shows that we are slowly morphing this car into a more competitive machine."

Hamilton was able to make the most out of his car in the majority of Grand Prix races and achieved six podium finishes in total. While he sees positives, the 38-year-old still hasn't changed his opinion, saying the W14 is not a race-winning car.

"It's gotten more enjoyable to drive, and to be in a position where you actually go forwards rather than backwards. It's been positive, but it is still not fundamentally a winning car, and that is what we've got to change next year."

Mercedes's team principal has already confirmed multiple times that his team will be changing the car fundamentally, and almost no component will remain the same. Hamilton added:

"The dream is to make sure that when we start in February next year, the car is not a replica of this year's car and feel exactly the same - but i am pretty sure that's not going to be the case."

It seems Silver Arrows will be going for the revolution of the car rather than the evolution. This approach can bring fruit, but it also comes with high risks. Do you think Mercedes can compete for the Championship in 2024?