Lewis Hamilton has expressed his belief that certain positive aspects of the Mercedes W14 can be carried forward to influence the development of next year’s car.
This perspective comes in contrast to Team Principal Toto Wolff’s earlier remarks, suggesting that the current car would be discarded.
The Silver Arrows faced challenges at the start of the 2023 season, following a third-place finish in the Constructors’ standings the previous year.
Their struggles were partly attributed to the innovative “zeropod” aerodynamic concept, which proved to be inconsistent.
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Significant progress was achieved with an upgrade and conceptual change introduced at the Monaco Grand Prix, followed by ongoing development efforts in subsequent races.
Despite improved results that propelled Mercedes to second place in the Constructors’ standings, the W14 remains nearly a second behind Red Bull’s RB19 in terms of pace.
Toto Wolff hinted at the potential discontinuation of the current car while acknowledging progress in the development of next season’s challenger.
However, Lewis Hamilton, speaking to the media, voiced a different perspective.
“We won’t ever bin the car, of course,” Hamilton asserted.
“These cars are still masterpieces, really, even if they’re not the fastest car in the world.
“Two thousand people have worked so hard to build these things, and they will continue to be a part of our history and our learning curve.”
Hamilton acknowledged that every car, regardless of its performance, possesses both positive and negative aspects.
He emphasised the team’s intention to retain the positives from the W14 for future reference.
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“With the new direction we have, it’s far too early to say we can be optimistic about next year’s car because we are just in the process of going into that,” Hamilton explained.
“But I have full faith in the crew that they’re going to take it in the direction that it needs to go.”
Reflecting on the learning curve over the past two years, Hamilton expressed his hope for further progress.
“There’s been a lot of learning in these past two years, so if we haven’t figured it out by next year, then obviously we will just keep working away at it, but I’m hoping that they have.”