14 Feb 2024 at 14:51
Lewis Hamilton was last present at the presentation of a new Mercedes on Wednesday. It was emotional for the seven-time world champion, who will drive for Ferrari next year.
“It is certainly emotional,” said 39-year-old Hamilton next to the Mercedes W15, with which he and George Russell will compete with Max Verstappen next year. “It’s also a bit surreal. I’ve been with this team for over ten years.”
“It’s our last season with Lewis, so we’re keen to give him a fast car,” added team boss Toto Wolff. For the Austrian, optimism and realism predominate.
“I can’t remember when we have ever looked forward to the first start of a car,” Wolff pointed out to the completely new W15, which has many more similarities with Verstappen’s successful RB19.
“We have changed course. Aerodynamically the car looks different, but under the hood a lot of mechanical things have changed. We hope that the car will become more predictable for the drivers. We hope that they can really push. Whether that works , we see in Bahrain.”
George Russell in the new Mercedes W15 at Silverstone. Photo: Mercedes
Empowering drivers to maximize
Hamilton noticed several times last year that the Red Bull and also the Aston Martin of his old rival Fernando Alonso had a much more stable rear in the corners than his Mercedes.
“If you don’t feel comfortable in the car, you won’t be able to get the most out of it,” the Briton explained. “We can achieve this with a more stable and predictable car, also from ourselves as drivers.”
In the first two years of the current rules package in Formula 1, Mercedes missed the mark with a different concept. “We were wrong about that, of course,” Wolff agreed. Although the team boss also wanted to nuance the image somewhat. “If you look back at the results in ten years, you will see that we came first eight times in a row and then third and second. That still looks respectable.”
Leader of the group behind Red Bull
The target for 2024 is clear for Wolff. “We want to be the leader of the group with Ferrari, Aston Martin and McLaren, but at the same time we really want to be at the front. Although we realize that this will be very difficult. Red Bull got these regulations right from the start. But we like a challenge .”
According to Wolff, Mercedes has mainly tried to find out what exactly went wrong with the past two cars, in particular why the virtual tests did not correspond to reality. “We’ve eliminated as many variables as possible. There’s a buzz in the team now that I haven’t felt in years.”
“We are of course curious to see what the car will do and hope that we have solved a few ingrained problems. During the tests we will find out to what extent we have succeeded and how big the gap is that we have to close. In any case, we are ready. for.”
The biggest changes are under the hood
Despite his upcoming switch to Ferrari, Hamilton says he knows well what Mercedes is capable of. “I remain grateful when I see how motivated and driven everyone is. It remains nice to work on a car with a group of people in the winter and to have it screwed together here for the first time.”
The Englishman is confident that good work has been done in the Mercedes factory. “Under the hood are the biggest changes, which we are not showing yet. But George and I will notice it on the track. That is something to look forward to.”
Formula 1 starts on February 21 in Bahrain with three days of testing. The first Grand Prix of the season will be held in the same country on March 2. Reigning champion Verstappen’s new Red Bull will be unveiled on Thursday.
2024-02-14 13:51:03
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