Sir Lewis Hamilton has been winless since the 2021 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. It has been a long time since the champion tasted victory and stood at the top of the podium. Moreover, Mercedes has been struggling to build the fastest car since last year. Who knows when Mercedes can actually fight for the title again? Moreover, the Italian team, Ferrari, was able to break the Red Bull’s streak this season at the Singaporean Grand Prix. In Marina Bay, Ferrari, McLaren, and Mercedes were all faster than Red Bull somehow.
But the Austrian team evened things out in the Japanese Grand Prix, clinching the 2023 title. Later, in the Qatar Grand Prix, Max Verstappen clinched his third Driver’s championship in a row. On the other hand, Lewis Hamilton had a DNF after a clash with his teammate George Russell. However, Russell finished fourth in Qatar. Anyway, Lewis Hamilton recently told the press that nobody is happy in the team after where they stand in the current season.
Why Lewis Hamilton Says Nobody’s Happy In The Team?
Hamilton believes that the encouraging sight was the people in the aero department are extremely driven. Albeit, their heads have been down. But the team is still pushing incredibly hard at their stations. Lewis Hamilton acknowledged their efforts, saying that it was very inspiring to see. Moreover, Lewis Hamilton believes if this team can go through a six-month journey of 100% dedication to the development of the car, then they can catch up to Red Bull next year.
But Mercedes must work faster and harder because the landscape of the F1 Motorsport is changing rapidly. They will have to deal with the rise of new threats like McLaren and Aston Martin in the following seasons. But they are pretty much stuck at a spot where they have to focus on finishing at P2, overcoming the challenges and threats of Ferrari and McLaren. However, Mercedes also needs to start the development process of their W15 car. How can they get back their hegemony on the grid?
How Can Mercedes Solve Their Downforce Problem?
The German team hopes that they will take the fight back to Red Bull next year. However, they still have a lot to understand about the car, like where its strength and weakness lies. It is quite clear that the W14 car does not do well around low downforce circuits. However, Mercedes gained better performance on high-downforce circuits. They were pretty fast in Spain, Singapore, Canada, and so on. But the former champions struggled in Monza, Zandvoort, and the Austrian Grand Prix, among other tracks.
Hence, the biggest battle would be to fix the issue with the downforce. But how long will it take for Mercedes to catch up to Red Bull? Anyway, the German team has more concerns in the form of McLaren and Ferrari, who are closing in on Mercedes this season. Hence, the battle for the Brackley team will be to finish at P2 this season. But in the last few races, McLaren and Ferrari have been too fast for the Silver Arrows.
