Lewis Hamilton has opened up on his struggles this season after enduring another year without a single victory.
Lewis Hamilton has accused Mercedes of not listening to his concerns ahead of this season. The Brit eventually finished third in the Drivers’ Championship, behind Red Bull duo Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez.
For the second successive season, Hamilton was unable to register a single victory in what was another challenging year for the 38-year-old. The seven-time champion was hopeful of at least mounting a charge for the title but ultimately knew he would fall short after the first race in Bahrain.
In an interview with BBC Sport, Hamilton said that he had “big, big talks” with the other members of his Mercedes team after making specific requests for his vehicle that were ignored. Comparing his car to the one from the previous year, he remarked, “I remember it feeling exactly the same.” And that was undoubtedly a bad feeling. I was really optimistic.
“I’m sure there were annoyances since I requested certain adjustments and they weren’t completed. Nobody was certain of the nature of the issue or how to resolve it.
“With the knowledge from the previous year, I simply put in the effort to dig in and sit with the guys. Our meetings were going much better. Throughout the year, I managed to maintain a lot more optimism and say things like, “Let’s not give up; it’s going to be a long season.” Let’s continue to strive for whatever outcome we can get out of the car.
“I believe that they believed that “the fundamentals are good and we just have to go here” for this year. Furthermore, it wasn’t true. I was upset in February because they hadn’t implemented the changes I had requested for this reason.
Hamilton continued by saying that the Mercedes team has newfound confidence as a result of the “North Star,” especially since they won’t need to redesign their vehicle for 2024. “At the beginning of the year, we didn’t necessarily have a North Star, knowing exactly where we need to work towards,” he continued. We’ve been traveling in a somewhat zigzag manner to try and get to where we need to be.
“Every now and then, something good occurs. You think, “All right, that’s it.” Then it moves, which is normal, meaning that the goalposts are constantly changing.” Hamilton, who gave Mercedes a big vote of confidence in August by signing a two-year extension, will be hoping that his faith in the team is rewarded next year.
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