Ex-Formula 1 driver Juan Pablo Montoya believes that the F1 community will “see a different” side of Lewis Hamilton in 2023, should Mercedes have a competitive car in the forthcoming season.
2022 was a challenging year for the 38-year-old, with the seven-time World Champion having endured the worst season of his 16-year career at the pinnacle of motorsport.
In his defence, his poor season wasn’t as a result of him performing below-par, with it instead having been due to the Germans designing a ‘diva’.
The W13 seemingly performed when it wanted to, with the car having given the team so many headaches throughout the season, with Hamilton and George Russell having quite literally been given headaches by the car.
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Porpoising was a huge issue for the Brackley-based outfit last season, with Hamilton having suffered from severe spinal pain at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix due to how bad the bouncing was.
When the car was performing somewhat good, though, Hamilton was consistently within the top three, to the extent where he was one of the best performing drivers in the second half of the season.
Had the W13 performed as well in the first half of the season as it did in the second half, then there is a very good chance that Hamilton would’ve been in the fight for the top three of the Drivers’ Championship, given that he was able to consistently beat Charles Leclerc and Sergio Pérez mid-season.
Montoya recognises that the poor car was arguably why Hamilton slumped to his worst season in the sport, giving the Colombian the belief that if the Germans can give the 103-time GP winner a strong package then he will “shine” in 2023.
“Yes, because last year it was also largely down to the problems Mercedes had with the car,” Montoya told the Dutch edition of Motorsport.com.
“And Lewis is a driver who if there is an opportunity to shine, he will grab it with both hands.
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“But when he lies fifth and knows there is no more in it than that, you won’t see him driving like his life depends on it.
“Then he will just do what it takes to secure that fifth spot. But on the other side of the garage, with George, you have a young driver who goes flat out every race and wants to prove himself every time.
“However, I expect that if Mercedes has a winning car again, we are going to see a different Lewis.”