2023-09-25 16:41:25
Mercedes superstar Lewis Hamilton usually stands in front of his team. But he also doesn’t make light of the fact that his racing team has fallen short of expectations for the second year in a row.
The seven-time Formula 1 champion said following the Japanese Grand Prix: “There are things that I asked for and some of which we implemented. But we’re still a long way from the top and I have no idea where we’ll be with the car next year.”
“One thing is certain: in the next six months we have to do the best development work we have ever done in order to close the gap to the top. McLaren has shown in 2023 that this is possible, and we cannot close our eyes to it. We have to look at what they did. And we have to go in that direction too.”
Damon Hill listened carefully to the words of his fellow Englishman. The 22-time Grand Prix winner and 1996 Formula 1 World Champion (with Williams) was in Suzuka as a GP expert for the British Sky.
Hill, 63, interprets Hamilton’s statements as follows: “He said all weekend that the car was on a knife’s edge. The car is so difficult to drive and he really gave it his all, he’s exhausted.”
Regarding the sometimes borderline duel between the two Mercedes drivers Hamilton and George Russell in Japan, Hill says: “What should Lewis do? Nobody can expect him to stay behind Russell, whose tires were not in good condition. No, Lewis simply did his job. He’s a racer through and through, and his own result is the most important thing.”
“Of course the racing teams demand that the drivers pay lip service to the team, but the bottom line is that everyone is only looking out for themselves.”
“I can understand Hamilton’s frustration. He had to push the team to abandon these extremely slim sidepods. He put a lot of effort into it, but in the end is that really his job? He’s a racing driver, not a designer. His instincts as a racer told him that Mercedes was on the wrong track. But he took some risks. He might have been wrong and sent the team down the wrong development path.
Japan-GP, Suzuka Circuit
01. Max Verstappen (NL), Red Bull Racing, 1:30:58,421 h
02. Lando Norris (GB), McLaren, +19,387 sec
03. Oscar Piastri (AUS), McLaren, +36.494
04. Charles Leclerc (MC), Ferrari, +43,998
05. Lewis Hamilton (GB), Mercedes, +49,376
06. Carlos Sainz (E), Ferrari, +50,221
07. George Russell (GB), Mercedes, +57,659
08. Fernando Alonso (E), Aston Martin, +1:14.725
09. Esteban Ocon (F), Alpine, +1:19,678
10. Pierre Gasly (F), Alpine, +1:23,155
11. Liam Lawson (NZ), AlphaTauri, +1 Round
12. Yuki Tsunoda (J), AlphaTauri, +1 Runde
13. Guanyu Zhou (RCH), Alfa Romeo, +1 Runde
14. Nico Hülkenberg (D), Haas, +1 lap
15. Kevin Magnussen (DK), Haas, +1 Round
Out
Alex Albon (T), Williams, collision damage
Logan Sargeant (USA), Williams, collision damage
Lance Stroll (CDN), Aston Martin, rear wing defect
Sergio Pérez (MEX), Red Bull Racing, Kollisionsschäden
Valtteri Bottas (FIN), Alfa Romeo, Collision damage
World Championship standings (following 16 of 22 Grand Prix, including 3 of 6 sprints)
driver
01. Verstappen 400 points
02. Pérez 223
03. Hamilton 190
04. Alonso 174
05. Sainz 150
06. Leclerc 135
07. Norris 115
08. Russell 115
09. Plates 57
10. Stroll 47
11. Gasly 46
12. Ocon 38
13. Albon 21
14. Hulkenberg 9
15. Bottas 6
16. Zhou 4
17. Tsunoda 3
18. Magnussen 3
19. Lawson 2
20. Sargeant 0
21. De Vries 0
22. Ricciardo 0
Constructors’ Cup
01. Red Bull Racing 623 Punkte
02. Mercedes 305
03. Ferrari 285
04. Aston Martin 221
05. McLaren 172
06. Alpine 84
07. Williams 21
08. Haas 12
09. Alfa Romeo 10
10. AlphaTauri 5
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