Lewis Hamilton admitted that the Mercedes W13 suffered from excessive drag but was uncertain about the reasons for the problem. The Briton revealed it was something his aerodynamicists were trying to figure out.
Asked by Sportskeeda if the excessive drag affecting the Mercedes W13 was a chassis problem or a power unit-related issue, the Briton replied:
“The drag? I can’t answer that. honestly. I think that’s more for the aero… I’m not an aerodynamicist. As I said, we tend to have a bit of a draggy car, I think this year. I can’t really answer much more to it. I’m always asking the question and I think we’re all trying to understand it. And yeah, try to make sure we rectify that for next year.” The boys are back out and searching for that perfect lap at the Temple of Speed.
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The Briton reckons there is uncertainty as to the reasons behind the excessive drag on the straights with the Mercedes W13. Lewis Hamilton believes those are some unanswered questions that his aerodynamicists will answer and hopes there will be improvements in the future.
Lewis Hamilton confident about Mercedes’ car development for 2023
Suggesting that there is potential to build from the current car, Lewis Hamilton is comfortable with the direction Mercedes has taken with the development of next year’s car. The Briton feels there have been limitations to the Mercedes W13 but believes that his team’s engineers will be able to utilize his feedback to improve the 2023 car.
Speaking about the development of the 2023 car in Monza, the British driver said:
“I mean, it’s always complicated. But I would say… look, we’ve been very strong in the past, we’ve won world titles, our communication continues to improve. We’re holding more meetings, and breakout group conversations about… and I’m trying to just help give as much feedback as I can about what I’m feeling in the car and what are those limitations where I could gain time. These will be things that they won’t be able to see in the data, that the driver is able to bring to it. So, working closely with George also on that.” “But there is potential in the cars: We’ve got downforce, it’s just in some places it we’re not able to utilize it. And ride quality, of course, is an area that we can always be better. So I’m comfortable with the direction that we’re going and have 1,000% confidence in the guys back at the factory, who are stringing together all these pieces of the puzzle, and have no doubt that we will be back in a fighting position next year.”
Although Lewis Hamilton is positive about the development of the 2023 car, Toto Wolff spoke to Sportskeeda in Zandvoort and admitted that there was a bit of uncertainty surrounding the direction of the concept. The Mercedes chief felt rival teams had a better platform to develop from compared to their concept, which had its inconsistencies and a very narrow working window.
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