Sir Lewis Hamilton is driving for Mercedes in his final season with the team. From next year, the seven-time champion will wear the iconic “Red Uniform.” However, before he bids goodbye to the German team, the great Briton wants to end it on a high. Even though the Silver Arrows are nowhere near the speed and perfection of Red Bull cars, they may have a better car than the last couple of seasons. Since 2022, Mercedes has struggled because the car was just not right. With the zero sidepod concept, the car caused a lot of porpoising issues.
Moreover, in the previous two seasons, Mercedes managed to win only one race, which was the 2022 Brazilian Grand Prix. 2023 saw the Silver Arrows have a winless season for the first time since 2011. But the new W15 car might have more potential than its predecessors. At least, that’s what Lewis Hamilton said back in Bahrain after pre-season tests. However, when coming to Jeddah, George Russell performed far better in the practice sessions than his teammate. Lately, Hamilton tried to explain why that happened. He said he is not happy with the rear of W15.
Lewis Hamilton Looking For A Stable Rear
During the first couple of free practice sessions, the veteran racer found himself in the midfield. On the other hand, George Russell seemed to be very happy with the car. He was among the top three for the longest period of those sessions. But why did Hamilton not have a perfect day in Saudi Arabia? Lately, in an interview with F1TV, Lewis Hamilton mentioned he had a difficult day because of a lack of confidence in the car’s rear. Moreover, Hamilton said the team was doing some work in the setup from session to session.
However, the seven-time champion also said that there was an underlying matter with the car that was bothering him. As a result, he had a few big moments when he was driving the car. Moreover, Hamilton mentioned that when driving in high-speed areas, a driver needs to have faith in the rear of the car. However, he does not have that yet. Moreover, the Mercedes superstar mentioned that he just wants to have a stable rear. Only that can make him happy now while driving the 2024 challenger. Hence, Hamilton is working on the process to get stability in the rear of the car.
How Come Russell Had A Far Better Time With The Car?
Fans might wonder why the young Mercedes driver did not have so much problem like the veteran did with the car. It seemed the gap between Lewis Hamilton and George Russell was huge in the practice sessions of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. Later, Hamilton said he is also not sure why the gap was so big. Perhaps he will have to go through the data and stuff to get an answer to that question. Moreover, Lewis Hamilton said, “Russell seemed pretty happy with the W15 car so far.”
Definitely, Russell likes the car more than the seven-time champion at present. Moreover, Hamilton mentioned that they went through different directions during the free practice sessions. On top of that, Lewis feels the whole team is trying different things to find the correct solution for the car. However, in Bahrain, Hamilton said it felt like a “Real race car.” Things changed again for the worse in Saudi Arabia for both drivers, said Toto Wolff.
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