Lewis Hamilton has revealed that he expects the W14 to suffer from bouncing for the remainder of the season, something which could impact his chances of beating Sergio Perez to second in the Drivers’ Championship.
With five races remaining, Hamilton heads to this weekend’s United States Grand Prix 30 points behind Perez, who has scored just five points across the last three races.
Hamilton would be entering the next round significantly closer to the Red Bull driver, had he not crashed on the opening lap of the Qatar Grand Prix after causing a collision with George Russell.
Nevertheless, with Perez’s confidence seemingly being at an all-time low, the seven-time World Champion stands a very good chance of catching the Mexican driver.
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However, Hamilton is concerned that his car is going to “bounce” at the remaining races, due to them not having a smooth surface.
Whether this’ll impact his results before the end of the campaign remains to be seen but it certainly will come as music to Perez’s ears.
On the positive side of things, the 38-year-old doesn’t expect the issue to carry over into 2024, with it having not been as pressing this season as it was in 2022.
“This car is going to bounce for the rest of the year,” Hamilton told the media.
“But I feel optimistic for next year that it won’t be a characteristic on the car. It comes and goes – some races it isn’t bouncing and some races it is.
“But it is nowhere near as hardcore as when we had it [last year].”
It’s not just Hamilton who has something to fight for in the final five races, as Mercedes are duelling Ferrari for second in the Constructors’ Championship.
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Mercedes sit just 28 points ahead of the Italians, who have shown great pace as of late.
Ferrari had looked stronger than the Silver Arrows for the majority if the recent races, although the Germans were much better than the historic outfit in Qatar.
Had Hamilton not collided with Russell then a 2-3 finish was on the cards for Mercedes, something which would’ve massively helped in the championship.