Sir Lewis Hamilton has been looking to end the winless streak for a long time now. The last race where the seven-time champion won came in the year 2021, the penultimate race of that season. And what happened in the next race is part of a significant turning point in the Formula One sport. Since the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, F1 fans have witnessed the rise of a new champion in the form of Max Verstappen.
That day, Hamilton narrowly missed out on winning the coveted eighth championship. Since then, he has been fighting hard to win a race for Mercedes and get into the title contention again. But this year, it looks like the chance has gone begging. Red Bull has won all races so far until the summer break. But after returning, Hamilton has revealed that the W14 car has shown improvement before the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort. Want to know more about it? Keep reading!
Lewis Hamilton Reveals W14 Feels More Competitive
According to the British driver, the Mercedes W14 car seems more competitive than before. Recently, in his team report, Lewis Hamilton mentioned that he had a great race in FP1 as well as in FP2. From Lap 1, he believes Mercedes has a good point to start working from. The seven-time champion also discussed how the team made some changes for the second practice session. However, Hamilton is still not 100% sure if the car progressed or not.
And to find out the answer, the team will dive deep at night. However, the car more or less felt good. That’s what the Brackley team and Lewis Hamilton want to hold on to. Moreover, the team will try their best to extract more from the car on Sunday. In a similar tone, George Russell, Hamilton’s teammate, suggested the car feels good, and it feels better to get back to racing after the long break. Despite Russell not having a great outing in FP1 and FP2, as he finished at P11 and P14, respectively.
Can Mercedes Hold On To The Second Place At The End Of The Season?
Out of 12 races, Max Verstappen won ten Grand Prix. Moreover, he has won eight races in a row so far. The Dutchman is on his way to breaking all sorts of records. However, the difference lies in the quality of the car of the Mercedes and their rival’s team. The W13 car was full of problems because of the porpoising issue. On the other hand, the W14 car is just not good enough for Lewis Hamilton to win races, let alone fight for the championship.
But Mercedes CTO Mike Elliot mentioned the team is focusing on the W15 car to get ready to fight for next year’s championships. However, they will also keep pushing the W14 car to its limit to at least win a single race like last year. The Mercedes driver George Russell had said, “The goal is still to win a Grand Prix.” Moreover, the Silver Arrows are focusing on finishing second this year anyhow. They have to be competitive enough to beat McLaren, Aston Martin and Ferrari. Recently, McLaren has shown vast improvement since the British Grand Prix. Moreover, in the recent FP2 at Zandvoort, Lando Norris was able to beat Max Verstappen narrowly.
