F1 News: Mercedes Chief Drops Bombshell On Lewis Hamilton Complaint
Toto Wolff, the team boss of Mercedes, has acknowledged the importance of addressing Lewis Hamilton's complaints regarding the seating position of the W14. While Hamilton has expressed his discomfort with the current positioning, Wolff reveals the limitations of making significant adjustments in what would be a damning bombshell to the driver. The seating can only be moved within a range of "five and 15 centimetres," adding a limitation to the driver for the rest of the season.
During media interviews in Australia, Hamilton explained the impact of his seating position, stating:
"We sit closer to the front wheels than all the other drivers... When you're driving, you feel like you're sitting on the front wheels, which is one of the worst feelings... It changes the attitude of the car and how you perceive its movement."
Wolff has now acknowledged Hamilton's concerns, emphasising the importance of considering the feedback of a seven-time World Champion. While Hamilton previously expressed frustration at feeling unheard during the car's design phase, the Brackley team is bringing in an update - now headed for Monaco - in a bid to move away from the original 'zero-pod' concept.
“You can vary the cockpit position between, say, five and 15 centimetres,” he told Motorsport.com. “We’re a little further up and that’s what irritates Lewis, and has irritated him for the past year.
"We don’t know how much of an impact it has, but you have to take the feedback from the drivers seriously.
“We don’t think it’s a big problem from a technical point of view. We’re looking at the big concept of the driver’s position in the cockpit.
“Obviously that’s one of the most important things, and not just in terms of weight distribution or, shall we say, the rational reasons like weight distribution, aerodynamics and so on, but also where the driver has the best feeling in the car.”
Despite the challenges in meeting Hamilton's exact seating preferences, Mercedes remains committed to enhancing the overall performance of the car thanks to a batch of upgrades originally scheduled for the Imola race, which was unfortunately cancelled due to flooding in the region. These upgrades include new suspension, sidepods, and floor.
“If we believe we can sort that out and help it by the front suspension redesign, then that’s definitely a good avenue," the team principal continued. "And this could be more of an answer too on lap time than what the aerodynamic package brings, by simply unlocking much more driveability and pace.
“But I have never in my 15 years in F1 seen a silver bullet being introduced, where suddenly you unlock half a second of performance. So, I very much doubt that this is going to happen here.”