2023-07-03 08:55:03
Lewis Hamilton was taken aback by the unexpected return of numerous difficulties behind the wheel of the Mercedes W14 at Spielberg.
The major difficulties encountered by Lewis Hamilton driving the Mercedes W14 at the Austrian Grand Prix are both a surprise and a mystery. Qualified fifth on the starting grid, the seven-time World Champion had a nightmarish Sunday at the wheel, punctuated by a penalty that dropped him to eighth place in the final event at the Red Bull Ring.
The overall performance of Mercedes is a serious setback following a positive trend observed in recent races, in parallel with the many changes made to the single-seater. Sunday in Spielberg, the double podium of Barcelona and that of Lewis Hamilton in Montreal two weeks earlier seemed a long way off…
“I didn’t expect us to be so bad today”notes, bitter, the British driver. “I don’t really have an answer to that. It’s surprising, but the feeling in the car was very similar to what I had last year, so it’s not the biggest surprise there. The car was really different compared to the last two Grands Prix, where it was much better than today.”
These troubles were further aggravated by a front wing adjustment which was intended to stabilize the rear of the car, but which ultimately went too far. This is how Lewis Hamilton explains his permanent difficulties in respecting the track limits in the last sector. Sanctioned from the 17th lap, he received a total of 15 seconds penalty on his race time.
“We knew our rear end was really bad here, so we removed a lot of the front wing to try and keep our balance on the long stints”he explains. “We did way too much and I was locking almost everywhere in the last two corners. Going into turn 10 I was sliding and mightn’t do anything. So we added a lot of front wing during pit stops and the car started to come back slowly to be able to stay on the track.”
Among the many pilots pinned for having enormously exceeded the limits of the track, Lewis Hamilton has also called in turn for an evolution of the system.
“I think they have to find a new solution for this circuit”he insists. “Years ago, when there wasn’t this problem of track limits, this circuit was much more pleasant. It’s strange to be driving and having to comment on what the car in front is doing, because that’s what what the team expects of us, but it’s not motorsport or racing. [Lando Norris] was coming out a lot, it was crazy. As soon as he passed me, he went out at least ten times, like Pérez.”
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