Lewis Hamilton appears to believe that he cannot secure his eighth world championship 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 set to join Ferrari for the 2025 Season, still has concerns that the German team may catch up to 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 testing in Bahrain.
After completing 123 laps on Thursday at the Bahrain International Circuit, Hamilton stated that his new car is a definite improvement over its unreliable predecessor. However, he does not expect the team’s performance to immediately improve. Hamilton acknowledged that the team still has time to address the issues, but there is still a long way to go.
Hamilton is pleased that the Mercedes team, unlike in the previous two seasons, took his advice and made the necessary changes to the car. However, these changes are not enough to catch up to Verstappen in the RB20 beast.
The trackside engineering director mentioned that the team still needs to work on their performance in a single lap when Formula One returns to Sakhir for free practice ahead of the Bahrain Grand Prix. In a Mercedes social media debrief, Shovlin stated, “We are still working on fine-tuning the setup.”
Shovlin also mentioned that the team 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 be leaving the team at the end of the 2024 Season. While there is a list of drivers who could potentially fill Hamilton’s position and contribute to the development of the Mercedes, the team’s aim for this year is also to close the gap with Red Bull. This may also improve their chances of attracting top drivers for the 2024 Season.