Mercedes, the longest reigning champions of Formula One, got off on the wrong foot in the ground effect aerodynamic era. With the zero pod concept introduced with W13 in 2022, the car was hopping all over the place. It even reached a point where their lead driver, Lewis Hamilton, termed it “dangerous” to drive. Despite struggles, the Silver Arrows made a grave mistake of keeping the base design intact for the 2023 season.
The W14 designed for this year is as flawed as W13, except for the bouncing and porpoising issue. This time, Mercedes realized its mistake early on and vowed to improve it. Accordingly, a massive set of upgrades was introduced in the Monaco GP, which showed positive signs. Meanwhile, ahead of the Canadian GP, Lewis Hamilton has shared his thoughts on the upgrades and delivered his final verdict.
Lewis Hamilton Claims Mercedes Is Headed In The Right Direction With New Upgrades
Mercedes introduced its much-awaited upgrades in the Monaco race weekend. They ditched the Zeropod concept and installed larger side-pods with new front suspensions. The upgrades bore fruit in the last race in Spain, where the Silver Arrows attained a double podium. The results have got the fans excited as they feel that the Brackley-based team might be finally on the winning track. However, it’s too premature to assume anything, as the upgrades are just two races old. Meanwhile, ahead of the Canadian GP, Lewis Hamilton has further hyped up the fans with his verdict on the upgrades.
Lewis Hamilton said that Mercedes had found their north star with the new upgrades and was finally heading in the right direction. The British driver added that after the Spanish GP results, people back at the factory are pumped and are working harder than ever. The team has a sense of feeling that they have found a direction to head on to. While the engineers are still figuring out the technical aspects of it, Hamilton is confident that together they can achieve their goals. Speaking of the race weekend, Hamilton said he feels confident of getting a good result. However, he will have to see how the car behaves on this track, but with rain likely to pour down, it will certainly help the team overall.
Hamilton Reveals The One Thing That W14 Lags Compared To Red Bull’s RB19
Mercedes has been trying to copy Red Bull’s car design this season. It was evident enough when they ditched their original Zeropod design to install wider side pods. While Lewis Hamilton was not on board with this idea, he feels it has helped the car in general. However, the British driver still thinks they cannot compete with Red Bull with these upgrades. He pointed out that while Mercedes’ suspension is fine, it needs to develop a strong rear to generate a Red Bull-like pace.
Lewis Hamilton further added that if you look at Red Bull, their car is generating impressive pace on the corners. That happens when you have a really strong rear end, which is exactly what Mercedes lags. Hence, the British driver urged the team to build a strong rear if they intended to edge past Red Bulls because, without strong rears, it is next to impossible to generate the required pace.
