This year, Lewis Hamilton simply lost everything. He lost the winning streaks, the pride, and the expectations all because of a weak W13! From early in the season to the very end, Hamilton was surrounded by bad lucks. In Abu Dhabi last year, the seven-time world champion lost the title to Max Verstappen.
But this year, he could not even finish the race as the mechanic failure arrived. The W13 gave so many wounds to Lewis Hamilton that he did not resist speaking, “I did not ever plan to drive the car again.” Looks like Mercedes will have to change the concept of next year’s car. Otherwise, it is sure that the seven-time world champion will not pay any interest in driving it.
Hamilton Was Totally Frustrated With The Experience Of W13
The W13 was stronger than the sister teams but way too weaker than Red Bull and Ferrari. It had no pace; it was draggy and filled with porpoising issues. Instead of constantly winning as Lewis Hamilton is used to doing in all his past seasons, this season, he had to settle for only podiums with no wins and poles.
Not only Lewis Hamilton but also George Russell, who debuted this year and won his maiden race on formula one, has complained about the car and blamed the W13 for the team’s dull performance. With this all, both drivers are expecting a change in the W14. But on the contrary, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff goes to claim that next year’s car model will not deviate significantly from W13.
However, no one can deny the fact that Mercedes kept on trying to figure out the problems. In the United States Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton, for the second time, got a podium as the car had upgrades in the front wings. And, not to mention, it was the upgrades only who helped George Russell and Lewis Hamilton together to bring a proud one-two win in Brazil.
For the experiences with the W13 model of Mercedes that made him suffer the most in Montreal, Hamilton stated, “It is not the Montreal [the track with kerbs] that I am used to and that I have driven in my entire racing career. It has been the worst I have felt among all the cars here.”
“I Have Not Signed The Contract For Getting Weak Cars Like W13,” Says Lewis Hamilton.
Meanwhile, for 2023, Mercedes has promised to give a better car. The team has revealed their concept for W14. Reportedly, they are set to stick with the zero sidepod concept. Also, lately, Toto Wolff has confirmed that next year they will change the DNA of the car. Meaning the inner and main integral parts will be changed, but the appearance will almost be the same.
The concept of side pods has arisen after the Italian Grand Prix of 2022. When Lewis Hamilton had a damaged tire, he got too frustrated with the car’s design. Speaking with Sky Sports, Hamilton raised his voice against the car. He said, “I hit a bit of debris as it came off another car. This damaged the little fairing on the tyre.” The seven-time world champion suspected that the car did not has great grip as it was flapping around. The car was so confusing for Lewis Hamilton that he even extended the line of beliefs. And said, “Maybe a ghost was there in the car”.
Now that Lewis Hamilton has already made it clear that in his contract, he did not sign for a car like W13. He will definitely not drive again if the same car appears. The team is working hard, making several changes and developing a brand new W14 adjusting with the new rules of ground floor effect.