When the major regulations came into effect at the start of 2022, many fans expected Mercedes, who were on a run of eight consecutive constructors’ championships, to design another title winning car.
Unfortunately for the Silver Arrows, they completely misunderstood the physics surround these regulation changes, resulting in a W13 that not only was slow but also harboured a major porpoising problems.
After suffering with a lot of back pain as a result of the violent porpoising and failing to win a single race in 2022, Lewis Hamilton admitted that he never wanted to drive the W13 again after the season finale in Abu Dhabi.
The 38-year-old has however just bid his final farewell to the W13 as he was made to drive the car one last time in a recent Pirelli tyre test at Paul Ricard in France.
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This was the first time that Hamilton had returned to a racetrack since the off-season break, having travelled to Antarctica to celebrate his birthday and train in the blistering cold.
The seven-time world champion will have to get back behind the wheel of the W13 in Jerez, Spain to complete two more tyre tests at the start of February.
Having completed the mandatory tyre tests for Pirelli, Hamilton will finally be able to see the back of the W13 and look forward to the launch of the W14 on February 15th.
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Having had a full season to learn how to get the maximum performance out of the new regulations, it is expected that the W14 will be a much more competitive car than the W13, which will reportedly be displayed in the team’s reception to remind employees of how bad things can get.
Hamilton will give the W14 its first test on track in Bahrain between the 23rd and 25th of February, as pre-season takes place in Bahrain prior to the 2023 season opener.
A multi-year contract extension is reportedly close to being signed by Hamilton, giving him a couple more years to win a record breaking eighth world championship and avenge the heartbreak of the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, where he so cruelly lost out to Max Verstappen.