Hamilton knew Mercedes had F1 car update planned for coming races
Lewis Hamilton says he knew that Mercedes had updates planned for its W12 Formula 1 car in the coming races despite the team’s decision to stop further development.
In the wake of his defeat to Max Verstappen in the Styrian Grand Prix last Sunday, Hamilton said that Mercedes “need an upgrade of some sort” after finding it “impossible” to keep up with the Red Bull driver.
The victory saw Verstappen extend his lead over Hamilton at the top of the drivers’ championship to 18 points, while Red Bull has now won all of the last four races.
Mercedes F1 boss Toto Wolff revealed after the race that development had stopped on the 2021 car in order to push resources to 2022, but technical chief James Allison clarified that updates already in the pipeline were still to come for the car.
“We have a reasonable number of things that are going to make our car faster in the coming races, and let's hope they prove sufficient,” Allison said.
Asked about Allison’s comments ahead of this weekend’s second race at the Red Bull Ring, Hamilton acknowledged that he knew the updates were coming, but called on Mercedes again to keep pushing to get more out of the car.
“Well, I mean, I knew we had that upgrade coming,” Hamilton said.
“But at the end of the day, everyone is working absolutely flat out.
Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
“We’re learning more and more about this car, we’re discovering where we need to push more and extract more, and I have all the confidence in the team that we will do over the course of time.”
Hamilton has failed to win any of the last four races, marking his longest run without a victory since 2017-2018 when he went six-in-a-row without reaching the top step of the podium.
Hamilton showed few signs of dwelling on the growing gap to Verstappen and increased threat posed by Red Bull this year, pointing to the long season still to be run.
“They’ve done obviously a great job in these last for races,” Hamilton said.
“It’s been really difficult for us from Monaco, which was obviously a bit of a disaster, and then the same for Baku.
“[It was] better in France and last weekend, however they have taken a step ahead of us. So, we’re just working as hard as we can to see if we can close that gap.
“We’re not even halfway through the season. So I am still chasing this title.”
Related video
Gasly surprised clash with Leclerc in Styrian GP wasn’t investigated
Alonso: FIA should focus on policing F1 incidents, not burnouts
Daytona 24: WTR Acura tops heavily interrupted FP1
Five red flags disrupted the first practice session for this weekend's Daytona 24 Hours, while Filipe Albuquerque put the Wayne Taylor Racing Andretti Autosport Acura on top.
Pedrosa to make KTM MotoGP wildcard outing in Spanish GP
Dani Pedrosa will make his first MotoGP race start since the 2021 Styrian Grand Prix with a wildcard entry for KTM at this year’s Spanish GP in April.
House of Lords peer criticises "discourteous and unprofessional" Ben Sulayem
FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem has been criticised by a House of Lords peer for being "deeply discourteous and unprofessional" in failing to reply to human rights concerns.
LMP2 drivers question move to slow class for Daytona 24 Hours
Leading LMP2 drivers have questioned the need for the secondary class to be slowed ahead of this weekend's Daytona 24 Hours, given that the new top-class GTP cars are running similar lap times to their DPi predecessors.
The crucial tech changes F1 teams must adapt to in 2023
Changes to the regulations for season two of Formula 1's ground-effects era aim to smooth out last year’s troubles and shut down loopholes. But what areas have been targeted, and what impact will this have?
Are these the 50 quickest drivers in F1 history?
Who are the quickest drivers in Formula 1 history? LUKE SMITH asked a jury of experienced and international panel of experts and F1 insiders. Some of them have worked closely with F1’s fastest-ever drivers – so who better to vote on our all-time top 50? We’re talking all-out speed here rather than size of trophy cabinet, so the results may surprise you…
One easy way the FIA could instantly improve F1
OPINION: During what is traditionally a very quiet time of year in the Formula 1 news cycle, FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem has been generating headlines. He’s been commenting on massive topics in a championship that loves them, but also addressing necessary smaller changes too. Here we suggest a further refinement that would be a big boon to fans
How can McLaren keep hold of Norris?
Lando Norris is no longer the young cheeky-chappy at McLaren; he’s now the established ace. And F1's big guns will come calling if the team can’t give him a competitive car. Here's what the team needs to do to retain its prize asset
What difference did F1's fastest pitstops of 2022 make?
While a quick pitstop can make all the difference to the outcome of a Formula 1 race, most team managers say consistency is more important than pure speed. MATT KEW analyses the fastest pitstops from last season to see which ones – if any – made a genuine impact
When F1 ‘holiday’ races kept drivers busy through the winter
Modern Formula 1 fans have grown accustomed to a lull in racing during winter in the northern hemisphere. But, as MAURICE HAMILTON explains, there was a time when teams headed south of the equator rather than bunkering down in the factory. And why not? There was fun to be had, money to be made and reputations to forge…
What Porsche social media frenzy says about F1’s manufacturer allure
Porsche whipped up a frenzy thanks to a cryptic social media post last week and, although it turned out to be a false alarm, it also highlighted why manufacturers remain such an important element in terms of the attraction that they bring to F1. It is little wonder that several other manufacturers are bidding for a slice of the action
Why the new Williams boss shouldn’t avoid ‘Mercedes B-team’ comparisons
OPINION: Williams has moved to replace the departed Jost Capito by appointing former Mercedes chief strategist James Vowles as its new team principal. But while he has sought to play down the idea of moulding his new squad into a vision of his old one, some overlap is only to be expected and perhaps shouldn't be shied away from
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.