Lewis Hamilton has recently vowed to challenge Max Verstappen from “day one” of the 2024 F1 season. After spending two years away from the championship battle, the seven-time world champion is now hungrier than ever with an in-form Mercedes W14.
Hamilton executed a flawless performance in the recently concluded Spanish Grand Prix. In a race where he started from P4 and fended off the likes of Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz and Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll.
With this, the British driver picked up his second podium of the season, as well as the team’s first double podium. Furthermore, his teammate George Russell had a fine race and came from behind to fend off Red Bull’s Sergio Perez to finish in the last podium place.
The young Briton started from P12, a place behind Perez, and managed to secure P3, and as a result, helped Mercedes get the better of Aston Martin.
Admittedly, this was possible because of huge upgrades by the Silver Arrows brought in Monaco and then Barcelona. From improved suspension to a new sidepod, the W14 got a much-needed revamp under James Allison.
Hamilton vows to challenge Red Bull in 2024
As the Mercedes duo saw a much-improved performance for the first time this season, Hamilton was over the moon and didn’t forget to credit his team for the achievement.
However, he also mentioned that the team will be looking towards making much progress and primarily focus on hunting down the defending champions from 2024 onwards.
⚪️✨ pic.twitter.com/SFcBYs0l5A
— Lewis Hamilton (@LewisHamilton) June 4, 2023
Talking about this, he said as per a report published by Formula 1 Uno, “I’m more focused on making sure next year we have the car to challenge them from day one.”
“And the further we continue to push this car this year, the more that impacts next year also, in some ways,” further asserted the seven-time world champion.
Hamilton on the Mercedes hurdles
Despite the fact that the engineers back at Brixworth are doing their bit to improve the situation for Hamilton and Russell, there are some hurdles the Brackley-based team is expected to face.
Firstly, it’ll be Red Bull and their star driver Max Verstappen, who’s expected to enjoy the upgrades the Austrian team is reported to make.
Then comes the immediate threat from the rivals such as Aston Martin and Ferrari, who are also eyeing the P2 spot this season, behind Red Bull.
And lastly, the handicapped situation under cost cap where massive development is a hard nut to crack due to budget constraints.
All in all, the task is expected to become harder than said, and Lewis Hamilton knows that. “So, we’ve just got to keep working hard but also try to get the right balance,” concluded the Mercedes driver.
