Lewis Hamilton had a wonderful weekend in Singapore clenching a 3rd position, however, the visible development in his car seemed to disappear on the most difficult tracks of F1 calendar, Suzuka Circuit.
Even though, the 7 time world champion was sporting a flashy new helmet, his performance was at most mediocre considering that their past weekend was an aggressive hunt for the top spot in race. Following these heartbreaking changes, Lewis made a request to his engineers regarding the upgrades on W15. Read on to find out more about it.
What changes did Hamilton suggest?
Lewis Hamilton is the star driver of Mercedes Formula 1 and as such, he is able to get the most out of the car with minimal collisions and a huge feedback on improvements. Ever since the rules were changed for F1 cars, in 2022, and they started using ground effects. Hamilton’s bustling race pace had vanished and he has had quite a difficult season even this year with their W14.
According to Hamilton. “W14 is the hardest car, I’ve ever driven to get right.”
Following his visible discomfort, Lewis Hamilton’s suggestion regarding were taken into consideration, viz,
The traction of car in low speed corners needed to be improved in order to give drivers more confidence;
The seating position needed to be changed and made better; Better race pace and qualifying pace in order to give drivers a better chance at race; Fixing track specific performance issues;
Along many other minor improvements, this will be the main focus of the team during the development of Mercedes W15.
Mercedes values the constant efforts and suggestions of their drivers and they are working day and night to get back to the front row of the championship in 2024.
How did Hamilton perform at Japanese GP?
Following a starring performance during the Singapore GP, Mercedes came to Suzuka with high hopes and loads of optimism. However, their optimism and confidence took a blow when their car wasn’t on par with other front runners again during the race.
Lewis Hamilton only managed to qualify 7th, only 0.311 seconds ahead of his fellow British teammate, George Russell with a lap time of 1:29:908 during his best run in Q3. The qualifying session indicated that the race was going to be a hard fight for Hamilton as the McLarens moved further forward.
Even during the race they couldn’t improve much with, Max Verstappen winning the race on ‘easy mode’ and the two McLarens taking away podiums with their improved setups. Lewis Hamilton however, made his way up to 5th place.
Lewis was clearly not impressed by W14 and taking these factors into consideration, he might’ve tried to put the W15’s development on top priority.
What suggestions do you have for Mercedes in order to give them a shot at world championship again.
