Source: Mercedes F1 Twitter
By Carol M. Creasey
Mercedes won the Constructors’ Championship for eight consecutive years between 2014 and 2021.
In 2021, while their car was often slower than Red Bull’s, it was thanks to Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas that Mercedes managed to win another Constructors’ Championship. However, in 2022 the car was only third fastest on the grid. This was particularly disappointing for Lewis, because after he was denied his record-breaking eighth world championship win in the last lap of the final race of the 2021 season, under unjust circumstances, he was fired up to win back the what was rightfully his.
Unfortunately, Mercedes’ car suffered from severe porpoising, which limited its performance. George Russell had by then joined the team, and Bottas moved on to Alfa Romeo. It was in these tough circumastances that we saw a different Lewis Hamilton. We saw a man who put his own aspirations aside to help his team identify the problems, and rectify the car for 2023. He willingly took on the role of testing different set-ups and carrying extra weight with sensors on the car.
He didn’t mind losing points to his team-mate, because he knew neither of them will be able to fight for a championship. And although much has been made of the fact that Russell finished the year with more points, Lewis and the rest of the Mercedes team were busy looking at the bigger picture – they were all working towards having a car able to fight for the title in 2023.
On February 15, Mercedes is about to unveil its brand new car, but no matter how sleek and classy it looks, no one will know until race day on March 5, just what this car is truly capable of. Lewis has proven in the past that he can outdrive the car, he has put in lap times that appeared to be unobtainable on paper, but that was with a car that was a much better machine that the one he had last year.
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Lewis mentioned recently that he is hungrier than ever to win the title, and then we have George Russell, also keen to prove himself. Over at Red Bull we have Max Verstappen, who tends to lose his head when racing Lewis, which leads to some fairly dangerous moves. Then we have Sergio Perez, who is just as anxious as Verstappen to win the championship, and who contributed massively during the past two years to help the Dutch driver. But will he help or hinder him this year? Ferrari have two good drivers in Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz, both evenly matched, and Lando Norris of McLaren will also want to join the party if he can.
Let’s hope that Mercedes have learned from their mistakes last year, and it will be interesting to see if the top teams are evenly matched this year. It will also be interesting to see if all the cars have good reliability. Winning a championship is not just about the driver, it’s about the whole team. No matter how fast the car is, if it keeps breaking down, many valuable points will be lost. This is why Lewis never fails to thank his team when he is standing on the podium. He has been to the factory, and immersed himself in working towards a faster car. Even though it was a difficult car to drive last year, Lewis and George made the podium 17 times, 9 for Lewis and 8 for George. They both deserve praise for that. And their efforts culminated in a sensational 1-2 at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
So while all of us Mercedes fans wait with bated breaths to see how the W14 will turn out, let’s also look forward to an exciting season, with fair racing, no matter who you support.
Be sure to follow Carol on Twitter @eagertogo and visit her website www.carolmcreasey.com!
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