Lewis Hamilton had made it very clear that he wanted to get rid of the Mercedes W14 as soon as possible. Hamilton wasn’t elated at all, even though Mercedes beat Ferrari to a second place in the world championship, summing up the general mood in the Mercedes camp throughout the season.
After nearly a decade of dominance, in the Turbo-Hybrid era, Mercedes regressed into an unstable team with an uncompetitive car while Red Bull took the spotlight. Mercedes’s troubles were far from over this season because they could never get consistent with their pace, unlike McLaren.
Lewis Hamilton voices frustration on W14
Toto Wolff publicly confessed that their W14 didn’t deserve a win owing to its uncompetitive nature and reliability issues. His mood was transferred over to Lewis Hamilton after the Abu Dhabi GP. In a crucial race where every single point mattered for Mercedes, Hamilton came in at a meager 9th position, rendering him useless for the 2nd place fight with Ferrari.
Lewis Hamilton openly criticized the team for not meeting his demands from the previous disaster of a season: “Having the experience of the previous year, I just applied myself, in terms of digging down, sitting with the guys. We were having much better meetings.
“I was able to stay a lot more positive during the year and be like: ‘It’s going to be a long season, but let’s not give up. Let’s keep pushing towards getting the maximum out of the car, whatever that may be.’ I think for this year they thought: ‘The fundamentals are good and we just have to go here.’ And it was not the case. That’s why I was frustrated in February because they hadn’t made the changes I’d asked for.”
Lewis’s troubles with W14 gave way to a lot of rumors regarding a potential switch to Red Bull however, Lewis Hamilton swore his loyalty to Mercedes even under stressful circumstances.
Mercedes rumored to upgrade W14
Lewis Hamilton has set some lofty goals for Mercedes ahead of the 2024 season and Mercedes has taken it rather seriously. They are about to change the entire car right from its fundamentals. The Silver Arrows suffered a major setback this year when Mercedes’s chief engineer left the team, but they are more determined than ever to bring back their drivers to the front of the grid.
Lewis Hamilton had reported problems with the seating position of the car, calling it the most uncomfortable car he had ever driven. The team has decided to improvise on his idea and started with the basic structure of the car, as reported by CEO Toto Wolff.
“We are changing the concept. We are completely moving away from how we laid out the chassis, the weight distribution, the airflow. I mean, literally, there’s almost every component that’s being changed because only by doing that, I think we have a chance. We could get it wrong also. So, between not gaining what we expect, to catching up and making a big step and competing in the front, everything is possible.”
Mercedes is in a tight situation currently and it will be a huge task for them to redesign the entire car months before the 2024 season starts. Do you think we could see a potential comeback for Mercedes in 2024 or will we find another frustrating season for fans of the Silver Arrows? Let us know your predictions in the comments section.
