Lewis Hamilton hopes Mercedes F1 will have developments that will help the team move up the hierarchy and get closer to McLaren and Red Bull. The seven-time world champion does not rule out that the new features on the W15 are more important than those on its rivals.
“Normally the team is always on the move, so they had time to analyze our mistakes” Hamilton said in Austin. “But we were also a bit out of step with the others.”
“The others all made updates at times when we didn’t, so we’re making changes here, for example. Some will probably make small parts here, but maybe not everyone will not have the same evolution as us.”
“Others brought it to Zandvoort and Monza, I think Ferrari did, so I think we just got a bit out of sync and ultimately lost our way a bit with the set-up.”
“So I think we understand where we went wrong, not necessarily wrong, but where we deviated and hopefully this weekend we can start with a better balance.”
This weekend will, however, be a Grand Prix with Sprint, and it will be difficult to fully exploit the advanced single-seater: “It’s impossible unless you get lucky and the evolution works from the start.”
“Last year we came here and I didn’t have to change much, and the balance was perfect from the start. Nine and a half times out of ten, it’s not the case. It’s is difficult, but everyone is in the same boat. It puts a lot of pressure and attention on the simulation.
“The simulations weren’t ideal last year, but we’re constantly working on it. Others put their car on the track and it works straight away. We hope we’ve made more mistakes than there are necessary and we hope to be able to start on a better basis.”
“Reevaluate the W15 while thinking about 2025”
George Russell explained yesterday that Mercedes still had somewhat old parts, such as its floor, and the Briton detailed the team’s decisions: “These three weeks of rest have been great as they have allowed us to take a step back and re-evaluate the car as a whole, while also thinking about next year.”
“We’ve definitely discovered a few things that we want to change for next year. And when you’re in the middle of a season, sometimes you don’t get a chance to look at the fundamentals of the car. It’s so very positive.”
“Obviously we’ve looked back at the improvements we’ve made at Spa. In fact, we’re taking two steps forward in making these improvements. We hope it will have a big impact.”
“I hope that with this development we can fight again, at least in qualifying, for the first four places and then, in the race, for a podium. Realistically, we know that McLaren and Red Bull have a way ahead of everyone else at the moment.”
