Lewis Hamilton has been waiting for the right car for a couple of seasons now to win his eighth world championship title. But the Mercedes team has not managed to come up with that yet. After narrowly losing out to Max Verstappen in the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the seven-time world champ looks like he has lost his golden touch. But Hamilton should not get the blame alone because the main problem has been with the car and not his skills. It looks like Mercedes has been producing horrible cars since the cost-cap era started.
Last year, the W13 car had trouble with porpoising issues causing too much bouncing. However, in the current season, the W14 car is causing issues with the balance. The car is on no par with the RB19 car of the champions. It seems as if to win the eighth title, and the best possibility is to go to the Red Bull team for Lewis Hamilton. Albeit, it is highly unlikely that Hamilton would change team so soon.
Lewis Is Not On Board With Copying Red Bull’s Design
Hamilton has got a great rapport with the Team Principal, Toto Wolff, who joined Mercedes the same year as the seven-time champ did. But it is also true that the Silver Arrows is no longer in the title contention. Instead, a new competitor has arrived using several Mercedes products, including rear, wind tunnel, etc., in the form of Aston Martin. Fernando Alonso is steering the wheel of the Aston Martin car and looks like a bigger threat than Mercedes to Red Bull’s hopes.
The two Red Bull drivers are competing against each other for the championship. It seems like they are lacking understanding between the drivers at the moment. But still, no team is coming close to Red Bull. On the other hand, for Mercedes to solve their issues with the car, the best option is to copy the RB19 car design as it is suiting the best on the grid at the moment. But Lewis Hamilton is not totally on board with that idea. As the seven-time champion feels, the addition of the side pods to the car, like RB19, might make W14 slower.
Lewis Hamilton Does Not Think Side Pod Design Will Work On W14
The Brackley-based team is using their old style of vehicle with zero pods. But it looks like Red Bull is benefitting from their side pods design. Lewis Hamilton recently provided a counterargument that, anyway, the W14 car has got a lot of problems. And adding side pods will decrease the speed more which will be just an insult to injury. The Silver Arrows must figure out another way to fight the current problems with the car. They have a long way to catch up to the champions and their arch-rivals, Red Bull.
After Bahrain, Lewis Hamilton said that W14 is even slower than Ferrari and Aston Martin. Hence, first, Mercedes need to try to catch up to the other two challengers. Then they can think about matching Red Bull. After the opening race, George Russell had said that they might have to wait. Maybe for the next year, get the perfect car and sacrifice the current season. Whatever happens, Lewis Hamilton and his fans eagerly await the coveted eighth title whenever it comes.
