Lewis Hamilton makes huge claim about Mercedes W15

Lewis Hamilton has endured difficult seasons in recent years, with his last win coming back in 2021.

Lewis Hamilton has revealed that Mercedes’ 2024 challenger – the W15 – is set to be a “different animal”, with him having “full faith” in the Brackley-based side that they can give him a much better car next year.

For the past two seasons, Hamilton has been given a largely uncompetitive car by the Silver Arrows, which has resulted in the seven-time World Champion having not won a race since the 2021 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

Since that race at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, Mercedes have only won once, at last year’s Brazilian Grand Prix, courtesy of George Russell.

The Silver Arrows just haven’t been able to extract the most from their package the last two years, with inconsistent performances having become the norm.

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This has infuriated Hamilton and Russell, who throughout 2023 in particular never knew how the W14 would perform in each session, let alone at each Grand Prix.

It made challenging for podiums on a regular basis impossible for Hamilton, who did superbly to salvage third in the Drivers’ Championship.

Mercedes also managed to seal second in the Constructors’ Championship; however, they’re set to introduce a completely new concept in 2024 regardless.

Hamilton is keen for several changes to be made during the winter break, a period he believes is “always an exciting time”.

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“I’m not an engineer or a designer. So it’s not easy. It’s always an exciting time of the year because I have seen the current car in the wind tunnel,” Hamilton told media, including RacingNews365.

“I always go by the wind tunnel when I go to the factory to see it evolving in whichever direction it ends up going.”

The 38-year-old has recently visited the team’s base and seen the progress being made ahead of 2024, with the British driver aware that when he next goes into the wind tunnel, the W15 will “again be a different animal”.

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Hamilton is confident that Mercedes will give him a good car next year and that they’ll be in a “much more competitive position”; whether it’s enough to catch Red Bull will be discovered in Bahrain in February.

“I popped in just to see where we were and when I come back it will be again a different animal,” Hamilton added.

“But I have full faith in everyone that’s working on it and I’m hopeful that we will be in a much more competitive position next year.”