Lewis Hamilton seems to believe that he won’t be able to secure his eighth world title at Mercedes.
Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen (via IMAGO).
Red Bull is significantly ahead of the competition in the 2024 season, according to the seven-time world champion. The British driver, who is about to join Ferrari for the 2025 season, still has concerns that the German team may catch up with Red Bull this year. Hamilton, who lost the championship in 2021 to Verstappen, does not seem to share the same optimism after the pre-season tests in Bahrain.
After completing 123 laps on Thursday at the Bahrain International Circuit, Hamilton stated that his new car is definitely an improvement over its unreliable predecessor. However, he does not expect the team’s performance to improve immediately. Hamilton acknowledged that the team still has time to solve the problems, but there is still a long way to go.
Hamilton is pleased that the Mercedes team, unlike the previous two seasons, has followed his advice and made the necessary changes to the car. However, these changes are not enough to catch up with Verstappen in the RB20 beast.
The team’s engineering director mentioned that the team still needs to work on their performance in a single lap when Formula 1 returns to Sakhir for free practice before the Bahrain Grand Prix. In an interview on Mercedes’ social media, Shovlin stated, «We are still working on fine-tuning the setup.»
Shovlin also mentioned that the team has made good progress in understanding the car during the test. Mercedes’ next goal is to analyze the results and put together the best package for the race weekend. Shovlin noted that they are in a much better position compared to 12 months ago and the driver’s feedback has been positive.
However, Mercedes will need to find a suitable replacement for Hamilton as he will leave the team at the end of the 2024 season. Although there is a list of drivers who could potentially fill Hamilton’s position and contribute to Mercedes’ development, the team’s goal for this year is also to close the gap to Red Bull. This could also improve their chances of attracting the best drivers for the 2024 season.
