Sir Lewis Hamilton has been waiting for his 104th race victory for a long time. The last time F1 fans saw the seven-time champion win a Grand Prix was back in the 2021 Saudi Arabian GP. It has been three years since the most successful racer in the sport remained winless. Moreover, the great Briton has never been winless for such a long time before in his long and illustrious career. In fact, prior to the 2022 season, the most successful F1 driver never had a winless season. Clearly, Mercedes has failed repeatedly since the cost cap era began to provide Hamilton with the right car. As a result, Lewis Hamilton made the tough call to switch to Ferrari next year.
For several fans and even fellow F1 professionals, it was a shocking decision because very few people could have imagined Hamilton leaving Mercedes someday. But the situation has been so complex that it was high time for the seven-time champion to take on a new journey as well as challenge before he ultimately hangs his boots. However, before moving to the Maranello-based team, he wanted to win at least one race with the Silver Arrows for old-time’s sake. But the 2024 season has still been very tough so far. However, Lewis Hamilton expressed his optimism for the W15 car after the first practice in Japan.
Lewis Hamilton Still Positive About W15’s Potential Ahead Of The Japanese GP
Mercedes had one of the worst starts to a season ever in the ongoing year. Lewis Hamilton has never had such a disappointing start to a season in his career before. Free practice session in the morning in Suzuka saw Mercedes duo – George Russell and Lewis Hamilton finishing fourth and fifth fastest, respectively. According to Motorsport, Lewis said, “It was great for the team,” after the opening practice session. As per the seven-time champion, that was the best session for Mercedes so far in 2024. Most importantly, Hamilton felt that W15 was at its best in that session. Hence, he feels really optimistic about being ahead of the Japanese GP.
Moreover, Motorsport quoted Hamilton saying, every driver loves to race at the circuit in Suzuka. That’s why the positive result excited the seven-time champion. Moreover, Hamilton recalled the difficult cars he and his teammate had to drive in this circuit over the last few years. But the great English racer is proud of the work the team has done at the factory in the past week after the tough start they had to endure this year. Moreover, Hamilton mentioned he did not change much. But apparently, Mercedes “Hit the ground a little bit more in the sweeter spot.”
The Seven-time Champion Is Optimistic About W15’s “Unlocked” Potential
Lewis Hamilton mentioned that they don’t need to make too many changes and mess it up again. After all, it seems that, in 2024, they will have a better platform or baseline to begin with. Hence, the Mercedes star says, “It’s better to stay where we are.” Moreover, Lewis Hamilton said he is still waiting to see when the potentials as per simulations unlock on track.
Even his teammate George Russell agreed that his team’s performance at FP1 was promising. Specifically, Russell said their performance at FP1 was “A pleasant surprise.” The car felt good to drive, and the two Mercedes racers were happy with the balance. However, Russell said FP2 was a big miss for everybody.
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