“Been a Challenging Day for Me”: Lewis Hamilton Bemused After Facing Challenges in W14 Only Week After Competitive Austin

Lewis Hamilton and company appeared to be getting back on track after a rocky start to the 2023 season. The Silver Arrows’ performance at the Austin GP, where they imposed the floor updates, appears to have sparked their ambitious plans to challenge Red Bull. With Hamilton’s back-to-back P2 finishes, it appeared that Max Verstappen and co. would be in trouble in Mexico next week. However, initially the Briton’s disqualification for unlawful plank measuring, followed by a poor practice session at the Mexican GP on Friday, has left the Silver Arrows’ hero perplexed.

Lewis Hamilton finished 7th on Friday at the Mexican track, with teammate George Russell ending the session in tenth. Interestingly, after several hours of striving with the Mercedes boys on the track, Hamilton was in an unpleasant mood. In one of the post-practice press conferences, the Mercedes maestro remarked that the W-14 behaved quite strangely in comparison to last week. However, it’s worth noting that during the early phase, Hamilton set the fastest final sector of anyone, although he trailed in the first two-thirds of the lap. The weekend in Mexico was expected to be a strong one for Mercedes, however, the opening day did not live up to expectations as Hamilton struggled.

 

Lewis Hamilton: It’s been a challenging day for me today, the car felt completely different to what it felt like in Austin a week ago and we need to understand why. We didn’t show the most competitive long-runs, so we’ve been focusing on trying out different set-ups.

— Junaid #JB17 (@JunaidSamodien_) October 28, 2023

According to a tweet by @Junaid, the seven-time champion expressed his disappointment. He said, “It’s been a challenging day for me today, the car felt completely different to what it felt like in Austin a week ago.”  Later, Briton also acknowledged that the German manufacturers needed to understand why they were struggling.  However, Hamilton’s unhappiness is understandable given that it was previously anticipated that the Mexican circuit would suit them due to its high altitude, thin air, and great asphalt quality. Nonetheless, despite the difficult Friday, Hamilton will not give up lightly.

Lewis Hamilton feels optimistic about the rest of the weekend

Lewis Hamilton has always been at the forefront of encouraging the squad during challenging times. His words have frequently inspired the Silver Arrows to go the extra mile to assist the 7-time champion and his teammate George Russell with a competent Car. Following the summer break, this exact scenario occurred, resulting in Hamilton eventually getting on Verstappen’s nerves in Austin.

However, when Hamilton’s car failed to live up to expectations, he was upbeat about working hard and making the necessary improvements.  In a recent Twitter post, the Briton was found quoting, ” The car showed a promising pace in Austin and I’m confident we can get it to a good place here and there’s plenty of room for us to improve.”

Though Hamilton confessed that the W-14 has faced issues at the Mexican track, he believes that his team, which has performed well at this circuit in the past, will find a way to improve. In light of this Hamilton has also hinted at the team’s shortcomings. He said, ” We didn’t show the most competitive long-runs, so we’ve been focusing on trying out different set-ups.” Apart from Lewis Hamilton, his teammate Russell, who finished 10th, was similarly upbeat about Mercedes’ chances. The Briton noted that the car performed well on this track last year, and the team is optimistic about the remainder of the weekend.