Sir Lewis Hamilton has revealed that the challenges Mercedes are facing this season have allowed him to approach working with the team from new perspectives, and this is something he is taking a lot of enjoyment from.
Mercedes have been adversely affected by the arrival of the new technical regulations, with the ground effect aerodynamics causing “porpoising” as well as handling problems when they get to the corners.
Trackside engineer Andrew Shovlin has recently affirmed that they will need to approach their issued in small “steps,” rather than with a miraculous game-changer.
Subsequently, the feedback on the car from Hamilton and team-mate George Russell is vital to the engineers in Brackley as they attempt to discern the best way through the problems.
Add in the $140 million budget cap they are working with, and they are all faced with a conundrum that they are tackling together, and this unification of the team as a result of adversity is something that galvanises the seven-time champion.
“I think we are all sent these challenges through our journeys and through our lives. This is one that I’m really enjoying,” he said, as quoted by RacingNews365.com.
“I’m really enjoying spending more time with the team, [taking] deeper dives into engineering, into aero characteristics, development of the simulator and the simulation tools.
“I think it’s enabled me to become even more involved in the development, which is exciting.”
After finishing down in 13th at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, Hamilton vowed to “forget” about what had been a calamitous weekend, but ruled himself out of title contention.
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He still does not believe that a championship fight is destined for him in 2022, but the good news for Mercedes is that the 37-year-old’s future with the eight-time constructors’ champions is not contingent on that.
“[The championship is], firstly, a really tall order and that’s not something that’s immediately at the forefront of my mind,” he explained.
“I still feel fresh and I still feel young, to be honest, even though I’m around all these youngsters here.
“I don’t think that’s going to be the deciding factor of whether I continue. I plan to be here.”
Russell has out-performed Hamilton in three of the four races so far this year, and leads him by 21 points in the Drivers’ Championship.
Former Formula 1 driver Gerhard Berger suggested that the 24-year-old’s performance will “soon get on [Hamilton’s] nerves,” but the dynamic between the pair seems to be an entirely amicable one at present.