2023 has certainly been a much better season for Lewis Hamilton already than 2022 was, a year which saw the seven-time World Champion beaten in the Drivers’ Championship by George Russell.
Hamilton’s frustration with the W13 was visible to the world, with that frustration having somewhat carried over into the start of this season.
Mercedes opted to stick with the ‘zero sidepod’ concept for the start of 2023, before scrapping it ahead of the Monaco Grand Prix.
Little progress was made by the Silver Arrows over the winter break, something which led to suggestions that Mercedes’ fall from grace would see Hamilton depart the team.
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Of course, Hamilton is set to cement his future to Mercedes, following reports that a contract extension is ready to be signed.
He’s certainly seemed happier and faster since the concept of the car was changed, with the W14 looking noticeably different compared to the season-opener in Bahrain.
The biggest difference is that Mercedes now have wide sidepods, after using Red Bull’s RB19 has inspiration in many ways.
So far, the new concept has worked much better than the previous design, putting Mercedes’ onto the right path for the first time since the new aerodynamic regulations were introduced.
Hamilton has finished fourth and second since the new concept was introduced, allowing him to reduce the gap to third in the Drivers’ Championship.
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Interestingly though, the direction Mercedes has taken wasn’t his “decision”, with Hamilton having admitted that the car felt like a “copy of last year’s car” when it was first used.
“These are ideas from the past year, with the team and George Russell we have been constantly working on questions like ‘why does this look like this’ and ‘have we tried this yet’,” Hamilton told reporters.
“Now we have wider sidepods, a bit towards Red Bull’s, and I can say it wasn’t my decision to go this way. When we put the car on the track for the first time this year it was almost a copy of last year’s car, only it didn’t bounce. A bit like a prettier sister, but really with similar characteristics.”