F1 News: Lewis Hamilton Identifies Moment That Gives Him Hope To Win In 2024
Lewis Hamilton has pinpointed his pole position at the Hungarian Grand Prix as a pivotal moment for the Mercedes team's morale and competitiveness. Despite a challenging couple of years for the Brackley squad, this achievement in Hungary gave them hope of catching up to Red Bull.
Key Takeaways:
- Reviving Mercedes' Hopes: Hamilton's pole position in Hungary marked a significant morale boost for Mercedes, instilling confidence in their ability to challenge Red Bull.
- Technical Progress and Challenges: Mercedes faced hurdles with their car design but made notable improvements, especially with the revised floor introduced in Austin, which nearly enabled Hamilton to win.
- Looking Ahead to 2024: Acknowledging the limitations of the 2023 car, Hamilton remains optimistic about the upcoming season, anticipating a significantly improved car in 2024.
Lewis Hamilton revealed that his pole position in Hungary earlier this 2023 provided the Mercedes team with the hope that it can reach the current leaders, Red Bull, potentially next year. Mercedes, which dominated Formula 1 by winning eight straight Constructors’ titles from 2014 to 2021, faced challenging waters with this era's new ground effect-lead regulations, leading to a victory-less period for the Brit since December 2021.
There was, however, one race weekend where Hamilton's performance showed the team a glimmer of hope: Hungary.
"I think Budapest was the best moment of the year, a circuit that I love, in which somehow, we were able to dethrone the Red Bulls at a specific moment," Hamilton said.
"It gave us hope and the feeling that if we kept pushing, we would reach their level.
"When I drove the car for the first time in February, I never thought it was possible to achieve a pole."
Mercedes' journey through the season saw a number of technical evolutions, including a shift to the downwash sidepod solution in Monaco and a final upgrade to the floor in at the Circuit of Americas in Austin. These changes, particularly the revised floor, significantly boosted the car's performance, with Hamilton nearly beating Verstappen in Austin, albeit it with a car that was later disqualified.
"With the improvement we made in Austin, with a couple more laps, we would have been in contention to fight for victory," Hamilton noted.
While progress was made by Mercedes, a number of teams on the grid also made huge jumps, including Aston Martin, McLaren, and Ferrari - all while Adrian Newey's potent RB19 cruised to victory in all but one of the Grand Prix this season.
Looking forward to 2024, Mercedes plans a comprehensive overhaul, aiming to avoid the pitfalls of the W14.
"The progress has been positive, but it is still not a car capable of winning races and that is what we have to change our face to 2024," Hamilton admitted.