Lewis Hamilton was able to fight Max Verstappen for the race win during the US GP and he was about to close in on the Dutch driver. However, disaster struck post race and Lewis Hamilton was disqualified after a bargeboard rule infringement was confirmed by F1 stewards in a surprise check.
The recent tussle between Hamilton and Max, however, raised some important questions. The Mercedes W14, which has been struggling the entire year against it’s rivals and has been unable to provide consistent results to the team, can the very same car finally fulfill the thirst for victory lingering in Lewis Hamilton for 2 consecutive years.
Will upgraded W14 help Lewis Hamilton win Mexican GP?
The biggest question that currently invades the minds of fans and experienced F1 pundits is: will the new and upgraded W14 finally be able to beat RB19? It is no secret that Red Bull and Mercedes have been arch-nemeses since 2021 and their rivalry is much deeper than that of other teams. After the regulation changes of 2022, Red Bull soared to the highest points, whereas Mercedes had to suffer a huge downfall from it’s glory days.
Their cars often had a glimpse of good pace in some races but most of the time the car has not been good enough to keep the drivers confident about driving to the limit. Lewis Hamilton in particular was extremely disappointed about the seating position of the car and he claimed it to be undriveable. Lewis wanted extraordinary developments in the 2024 car to combat these shortcomings and the situation was quite complicated in the Silverstone-based outfit.
Lewis Hamilton happy with double knock-on effect after new upgrade
Mercedes was able to have the most competitive race of their season with the new upgrades they introduced in Austin and Lewis Hamilton managed to finish the race 2 seconds off his rival Max Verstappen, even though he was disqualified later on.
These recent developments have impressed Lewis Hamilton a lot and he is satisfied with what he calls a ‘double knock-on’ effect in the car.
“I think the step that we were able to take this weekend has given me a little bit more confidence in the car to throw it into the corner,” Hamilton told media. “So it was positive, I really enjoyed driving around this track. There are still some of the fundamental issues that we’re having with the car, which won’t change till next year.”
“But it was really positive to feel the steps that were taken. Maybe it was only a tenth upgrade, for example, but there was at least a tenth of confidence that it gave me.
“So this helped me and it’s quite an interesting what you see, when you do have those, it’s like a double knock on effect.”
With their star driver finally regaining confidence in the car, do you think Mercedes will be able to accomplish the task of claiming the top spot in a race?
