Lewis Hamilton is nothing short of a gift from God to the Mercedes F1 team. Great drivers like Michael Schumacher were part of the Brackley team in its history. But no racer like Hamilton brought so much glory and success to the team. The Briton joined Mercedes in 2013. From 2014 to 2020, Mercedes dominated the Formula One Grid, and the great Briton is majorly responsible for that.
When he came from McLaren, Hamilton was already a driver’s world champion. But with Mercedes, he won six more driver’s titles and multiple constructor’s titles. Mercedes was the winner of the constructor’s championship in 2021 as well, which year Hamilton narrowly lost to the new world champion, Max Verstappen. But what has happened to the champions ever since? Why are the Silver Arrows unable to provide a power-packed car for their drivers?
Mercedes Unable To Provide A Challenger For Mercedes
Nonetheless, the fact is the reason behind the Silver Arrows being one of the powerhouses of F1 Motorsport owes a lot to Lewis Hamilton. The seven-time champion Hamilton has proved time and again that he is a proper team man. He will do anything to help his team fix the problems with the car and prepare a fast and smooth car. Like last year saw Lewis Hamilton finish a season without a single race win. That raised a lot of speculations about his age and possible retirement. But the inside news is that Hamilton sacrificed a lot to help the engineers understand the problems with the car.
A similar case may happen again in the early part of the 2023 season. The opening GP was not at all satisfactory for the Brackley side. The W14 car is better than its predecessor but is not sans trouble. The German team fell behind the current champs, Red Bull, and new competitor Aston Martin. Even Carlos Sainz of Ferrari beat the German team. Lewis Hamilton ended fifth after the opening race of the 2023 season. But it is clear as morning sky that the two drivers of Red Bull and the veteran driver of Aston Martin are, at the moment, way ahead of Lewis Hamilton and George Russell.
Are Lewis Hamilton And George Russell Going To Drive A Prototype In The First Few Races Of The Season?
Verstappen was 50 seconds faster than Hamilton, to be precise. Mercedes has a lot to catch up on. But there are also reports that came after the GP in Bahrain, which suggest that Mercedes used a prototype in the opening race. This prototype is a mixture of W13 and W14. The Brackley team just mechanically fixed the balance and the porpoising issue for the opening race. But when the whole W14 technology is ready to get in the car, it will produce much faster and better results.
However, until that happens, Lewis Hamilton and George Russell will have to drive the prototype. The seven-time champion has not expressed intention to retire any soon, but he is 38. Hence, the clock is ticking. Hamilton must be excited to win the coveted eighth title. However, only time will tell if he will wait for the Silver Arrows to provide him with a championship-winning car or if he will look for other teams after the contract ends this year.