F1 News: Lewis Hamilton Demands Answers After McLaren Overtakes Mercedes In Development

The 7-time world champion wants more from his team, who are yet to fulfil his wishes on the development of the Mercedes W14.

On the surface, it looks like Lewis Hamilton and the Mercedes team performed well at the British Grand Prix, with the 7-time world champion finishing in P3 - a triumphant podium finish for the driver who left the track at the beginning of the race. But, looking closer, this isn't good news for the Brackley-based team, who are now slower than McLaren, who after upgrades look like the have the second fastest car on the grid behind the Red Bulls. 

Reflecting on the race, Hamilton wants answers from his team who have consistently faltered so far this season, despite concept-changing upgrades at the Monaco Grand Prix, and even further upgrades at Silverstone itself in the shape of a new front wing. 

“For us, being on the podium was huge, and huge congrats to Lando and to McLaren. That’s where I started, so to see them back there doing so well, it really warms my heart,” Hamilton told Sky Sports F1 after the race.

“It’s definitely been an up and down season in the last year and a half.

"We have a lot of work to do. I think I know exactly what we need to do, and I think we’ve got to have some serious conversations about what are we going to do moving forward.

Continuing, he adds that the sensible next step is to analyse the Red Bull RB19, similarly to what Aston Martin and McLaren have done, and try to replicate their success: 

“You know, the McLaren is proof of the direction that they’ve gone. I mean, it was impressive how quick they were in high speed.

“We’ve got lots of strengths in our car and long run particularly is great. As soon as we get the rear end that they have, we’re going to be on our way – so that’s what we’ve got to fight for.

“But first, George had a really great long stint on the soft tyre, and I did also on the medium tyre. We’ve got to hold onto the good bits and just bolt on some good other stuff.”

He left the weekend feeling optimistic, but it's clear that if Mercedes want to reach their objective of winning the championship next year, their car is in need of some serious TLC. As team principal Toto Wolff has admitted, I believe it's time for them to start focussing on next year's car.