Lewis Hamilton has been an absolute icon of Formula One Motorsport. He won his seventh driver’s world championship in 2020 to equal the feat of the great Michael Schumacher. Hence, in F1 history, these two are the most successful racers ever. With one more world champion Lewis Hamilton can become the ultimate Formula One racer. He came so close in 2021 when Max Verstappen of Red Bull took the chance away in the last lap. The following year had been an absolute disaster for the seven-time champion.
For the first time in his career, Hamilton went through a season without a single race win. Albeit he came pretty close at the Brazilian Grand Prix, this time, his teammate George Russell came in his way. George Russell was racing last year in his debut season for Mercedes. But the young Englishman won the only race for the Silver Arrows previous season. The reason for this terrible performance of the F1 powerhouse was pointed to the W13 cars.
The car was not fit to help the drivers to win races as it had lots of problems. It had issues with the weight, side pods, porpoising, and horsepower. Drivers complained about “too much bouncing and not being able to control them.” Lewis Hamilton and George Russell complained about neck and back pains. They also suffered severe bruises while getting in and out of the W13 car.
The engineers started working on it soon enough, and halfway to the last season, the car got better. That was the reason why the Brackley-based team managed to win in Sao Paolo, Brazil. However, with the new season about to kick off in Bahrain on March 5, 2023, Mercedes have already launched their new W14 car.
Toto Wolff Hopes Lewis Hamilton Gets A Fast Car This Season
The team has certainly made the necessary changes to fix the issues on the side pods and the weight. The team has gone back to the black livery from the 2020 season when they used it as a sign of protest. But this time the reason is the weight. With the original silver livery, the weight is heavier than what happens with black paint. With less weight, the speed of the car increases. Boss Toto Wolff mentioned on the day of the car launch, “I hope the car is as fast as it looks.” He spoke to Motorsport.com recently and said, “we hope to provide Lewis Hamilton with a championship-winning car. Last season we could not do that. As a result, Lewis and the team suffered the consequences. We would not want to repeat the same mistakes.”
Clearly, the Silver Arrows are gearing up to return to winning ways. Toto Wolff mentioned that they have kept the good parts of W13 in the new car and hope it will solve the bouncing problems. Former McLaren driver Jenson Button who is a close friend of Lewis Hamilton, believes all the seven-time champ needs is a fast and winning car. According to Button, if Hamilton gets a fast car, he will be unstoppable. Not only provide tough competition to his teammate George Russell but to the current double-time champion, Max Verstappen too. Button is also excited to see this quality Mercedes duo perform in the upcoming season.
