2023 Mercedes-AMG | Petronas F1 Team

[CHT]

Lewis has been driving Merc-powered F1 cars for nearly 17 years and 2022 was the first time he has failed to win a single race. Like the champions who have come before him, there will come a point where his career will start to fade and younger drivers take over. I won't be surprised if his career may end up mirroring the likes of Valentino Rossi.

Russell on the other hand, in his 2nd year driving for the top team, has won a race and secured several podiums in 2022. I am certain he is hungry as ever and the downcasted Lewis within the Merc team may just work in his favor as Merc has to start thinking of F1 without Lewis eventually.

2023 is a write-off year for Merc W14, with 21 races to go it will take a huge toll on Lewis as he struggles to overcome the ghost of the 2021 Abu Dhabi race. I honestly don't think Lewis is enjoying F1 anymore other than the hope of winning 8th WDC.

[AR3-GP]

Big news and good noises coming out of the Mercedes camp:
https://the-race.com/formula-1/mercedes ... ter-shift/

Says Merc are making big gains in the WT in the last 10 days.

“The trajectory is set now, it’s not anymore single qualifyings or races, we’re now storming full steam ahead on changing things. ”

Asked by The Race to elaborate on the nature of the ‘big steps’, he said: “Big steps in relative performance to where we are even now.

“The kind of gains that are coming in our R&D and in aero are much bigger than we’ve had for a long time – so we’ve unlocked some potential because we’ve simply looked at things from a different angle now.

He said the new development work going has “probably managed to find more performance in a week than we found in almost a month, let’s say, over the winter”.

[organic]

That is surprising, but maybe it's looking at Aston's design that has got them unlocking performance

Aston performing so well gives Merc confidence that they can find performance by optimizing their aero package. Until that, they've not been confident that their mechanical setup is up to scratch. They know it is, and they have a blueprint in front of them that worked very well at Bahrain so they can pursue that

[PlatinumZealot]

For me Hamilton has shown signs of turning on his team when he is not doing well and then saying something nice to cover it up. He has been blessed with a superior car for years before last year and now we are starting to see the cracks again in my opinion. Don't get me wrong, I do think he is a phenomenal driver and competitor but I am not convinced about him when things go wrong. Now we have a very strong teammate and a car that is not the best. Little comments that have been made and his sacking of Angela after 7 years ( from what I understand it was his decision). I do not think he comprehended how much she did and how valuable she was when that decision was made. I think he is really angry and lashing out in all directions and that is not going to help his lap times. Obviously just an opinion from an armchair .

A bit sensationalist. Angela has her own family to take care of. Lewis just doesn't want to be the guy that takes her away from that. She is very handsomely paid, and she did her job well, but come on she has her family to live for. I would suggest that she goes home. If it means sacking her, it is for her own good.

[PlatinumZealot]

Lewis has been driving Merc-powered F1 cars for nearly 17 years and 2022 was the first time he has failed to win a single race. Like the champions who have come before him, there will come a point where his career will start to fade and younger drivers take over. I won't be surprised if his career may end up mirroring the likes of Valentino Rossi.

Russell on the other hand, in his 2nd year driving for the top team, has won a race and secured several podiums in 2022. I am certain he is hungry as ever and the downcasted Lewis within the Merc team may just work in his favor as Merc has to start thinking of F1 without Lewis eventually.

2023 is a write-off year for Merc W14, with 21 races to go it will take a huge toll on Lewis as he struggles to overcome the ghost of the 2021 Abu Dhabi race. I honestly don't think Lewis is enjoying F1 anymore other than the hope of winning 8th WDC.

It's all about motivation too. Alonso was being challenged by the likes of Journeymen at one point. A middle aged Button, Ocon... even Stroll is too close for comfort if you ask me considering Alonso is fully motivated now.

[organic]

Who cares if Hamilton turns on his own team? He's a top athlete wanting the best for himself (which also means the team!) What he says will hardly affect where Mercedes are performance-wise

Being cutthroat is part of being the best in any sport.

That sort of attitude for a 37 year old still competing in F1 should give you reassurance in him, not any reason for concern

People will use any excuse to criticize Hamilton. If George or Max were critical of the team or switched up their personal trainer there would probably be praise from the same people for being pushy and not accepting mediocrity! It can be swung any way.

Hamilton will never be at his best when driving a car that is clearly not going to do anything but compete for podiums at best. He will return to the highest level when the car is capable of winning races, as we saw last year. He could've won Zandvoort, Hungary, Brazil, Silverstone, Mexico, COTA with a bit of luck and more unreliability for Max.

[mendis]

It's all about motivation too. Alonso was being challenged by the likes of Journeymen at one point. A middle aged Button, Ocon... even Stroll is too close for comfort if you ask me considering Alonso is fully motivated now.

A professional, who chose to compete and paid for the job, is ethically required to be motivated and fulfill his obligations to the full of his abilities. Failing to do so, is duty unfulfilled.

Hamilton will never be at his best when driving a car that is clearly not going to do anything but compete for podiums at best. He will return to the highest level when the car is capable of winning races, as we saw last year. He could've won Zandvoort, Hungary, Brazil, Silverstone, Mexico, COTA with a bit of luck and more unreliability for Max.

That can be said of 90% drivers on the grid, why pay 55 million for it?

[CHT]

It's all about motivation too. Alonso was being challenged by the likes of Journeymen at one point. A middle aged Button, Ocon... even Stroll is too close for comfort if you ask me considering Alonso is fully motivated now.

Alonso has been kept away from competing at the front for a long time and certainly, he is motivated to be back in front again. It may take Lewis a few years of no wins and no podium to have the same motivation. For Lewis case I think the ghost of 2021 AD is something that is weighing heavily on him.

[AR3-GP]

It's all about motivation too. Alonso was being challenged by the likes of Journeymen at one point. A middle aged Button, Ocon... even Stroll is too close for comfort if you ask me considering Alonso is fully motivated now.

Alonso has been kept away from competing at the front for a long time and certainly, he is motivated to be back in front again. It may take Lewis a few years of no wins and no podium to have the same motivation. For Lewis case I think the ghost of 2021 AD is something that is weighing heavily on him.

A sabbatical might actually do him some good. Nothing makes you miss F1 harder than sitting out. Ask Alonso, ask Hulkenberg. Ask ricciardo.

[zibby43]

Big news and good noises coming out of the Mercedes camp:
https://the-race.com/formula-1/mercedes ... ter-shift/

Says Merc are making big gains in the WT in the last 10 days.

“The trajectory is set now, it’s not anymore single qualifyings or races, we’re now storming full steam ahead on changing things. ”

Asked by The Race to elaborate on the nature of the ‘big steps’, he said: “Big steps in relative performance to where we are even now.

“The kind of gains that are coming in our R&D and in aero are much bigger than we’ve had for a long time – so we’ve unlocked some potential because we’ve simply looked at things from a different angle now.

He said the new development work going has “probably managed to find more performance in a week than we found in almost a month, let’s say, over the winter”.

This is fascinating.

What in the hell were they doing over the winter, then? Clearly not evaluating any other paths.

[peewon]

Lewis has been driving Merc-powered F1 cars for nearly 17 years and 2022 was the first time he has failed to win a single race. Like the champions who have come before him, there will come a point where his career will start to fade and younger drivers take over. I won't be surprised if his career may end up mirroring the likes of Valentino Rossi.

Russell on the other hand, in his 2nd year driving for the top team, has won a race and secured several podiums in 2022. I am certain he is hungry as ever and the downcasted Lewis within the Merc team may just work in his favor as Merc has to start thinking of F1 without Lewis eventually.

2023 is a write-off year for Merc W14, with 21 races to go it will take a huge toll on Lewis as he struggles to overcome the ghost of the 2021 Abu Dhabi race. I honestly don't think Lewis is enjoying F1 anymore other than the hope of winning 8th WDC.

It's all about motivation too. Alonso was being challenged by the likes of Journeymen at one point. A middle aged Button, Ocon... even Stroll is too close for comfort if you ask me considering Alonso is fully motivated now.

Button is hardly a journeyman. Hes a world champion and comfortably beat Hamilton in the same car.

[Hammerfist]

Who cares if Hamilton turns on his own team? He's a top athlete wanting the best for himself (which also means the team!) What he says will hardly affect where Mercedes are performance-wise

Being cutthroat is part of being the best in any sport.

That sort of attitude for a 37 year old still competing in F1 should give you reassurance in him, not any reason for concern

People will use any excuse to criticize Hamilton. If George or Max were critical of the team or switched up their personal trainer there would probably be praise from the same people for being pushy and not accepting mediocrity! It can be swung any way.

Hamilton will never be at his best when driving a car that is clearly not going to do anything but compete for podiums at best. He will return to the highest level when the car is capable of winning races, as we saw last year. He could've won Zandvoort, Hungary, Brazil, Silverstone, Mexico, COTA with a bit of luck and more unreliability for Max.

These DTS born lewis haters have not followed his career long enough to know what kind of driver he is. As Nico Rosberg said during the championship battle in 2021 : "You can never count Lewis out, he will always come back". And yes, Lewis did come back phenomenally and should have won that championship.

Lewis struggling with a car early in the season is such a familiar tale it really should not be discussed anymore. It takes him a while to feel at one with the car. Once he does his teammates have not been able to keep up. That's just facts. Let's see where he stacks up around race 8-10. And yes, like you said, when the car is not capable of winning he tends to lose motivation. We saw that in 2013.

The only thing I worry about when it comes to Lewis is Mercedes never being able to give him a car that can win again. That is a distinct possibility now and he may end up never competing at the front again. We shall see.

[dialtone]

You people are so lucky to have someone like Lewis in your team and yet some of you have the balls to call him washed. smh.

[Rodak]

Big news and good noises coming out of the Mercedes camp:
https://the-race.com/formula-1/mercedes ... ter-shift/

Says Merc are making big gains in the WT in the last 10 days.

“The trajectory is set now, it’s not anymore single qualifyings or races, we’re now storming full steam ahead on changing things. ”

Asked by The Race to elaborate on the nature of the ‘big steps’, he said: “Big steps in relative performance to where we are even now.

“The kind of gains that are coming in our R&D and in aero are much bigger than we’ve had for a long time – so we’ve unlocked some potential because we’ve simply looked at things from a different angle now.

He said the new development work going has “probably managed to find more performance in a week than we found in almost a month, let’s say, over the winter”.

Well then, they've been incompetent in the extreme with new car design for 2023. Sounds like B.S.

[harty71]

You people are so lucky to have someone like Lewis in your team and yet some of you have the balls to call him washed. smh.

He's not washed, he's just not on the level of Mr Saturday/Mr Consistency. If it was Bottas in the other car we would still be praising him for his performances.