Lewis Hamilton has confirmed that he is in constant contact with bosses back at Mercedes and the team’s sponsors as they plot a way to eliminate their porpoising issue.
Speaking in an interview after his P4 finish in the 2022 F1 Australian GP, Lewis Hamilton said:
“There’s a lot of work, and there’ll be a lot of calls, naturally. I’m on a lot of Zoom calls with all the sponsors and our bosses, really trying to rally them up. We’ve got some improvements that we need to make. And we need everyone’s support in doing so, in just making sure we leave no stone unturned. It’s in making sure the hunger is really there and we’re maximizing absolutely every moment.”
The 37-year-old has not had the easiest start to the season in a car that is not as competitive as Ferrari’s or Red Bull’s. The Silver Arrows, however, have managed to be reliable thus far, which is a positive sign for Toto Wolff and Co.
After being behind on pace in the first three races, the seven-time world champion wants to see instant and significant gains ahead of the next race at Imola. Lewis Hamilton added, saying:
“I’m chasing the people that are in the wind tunnel, the aero guys, and just looking at absolutely every single area. There’s performance to be gained in areas that we know. And we need it now. Not in two or three races. We all know as a team that we have just got to keep that encouragement and keep that energy high.”
“We’re so far off the guys up ahead” – Lewis Hamilton admits Mercedes not at the same level as Ferrari and Red Bull
Lewis Hamilton’s urge to find improvements is valid when one takes Mercedes’ performance in 2022 into consideration. The Silver Arrows have been nowhere near as dominant as their reputation would suggest three races into the season and this was most evident in Saudi Arabia.
That weekend saw Lewis Hamilton qualify in P16 and finish in P10 before asking in bewilderment if there was a point for his efforts. The Briton admitted the gulf in pace between Mercedes and its rivals, saying:
“We’ll keep fighting, it’s all we can do. Right now we’re not fighting for the top set. We’re so far off the guys up ahead. We’ve got a lot of work to do. We’re still really down on the speed. I don’t think it’s one fix, it’s several things. I don’t know how much drag we have compared to the others, but it feels like a lot.”
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The Emilia Romagna GP, known more colloquially as the Imola GP, will see F1 action return to Europe for the first time since pre-season testing in Barcelona. The race weekend will run from April 22 through to April 24.
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