7-time world champion Lewis Hamilton had the ‘worst’ season of his career in 2022. He failed to score even a single win for the first time in his 16 years as a Formula 1 star.
This happened due to the poor-performing Mercedes’ W13 which even saw the end of the Silver Arrows’ 8 years of dominance in the sport.
Throughout the season, Hamilton was more focused on trying different setups on the car and figuring out a way to improve its pace and minimise the performance. Meanwhile, George Russell, who had just been promoted to Mercedes from Williams pushed the car flat out.
In the process, he even defeated his teammate in the Drivers’ Championship by 35 points finishing P4 in the 2022 season. Hamilton could only bag enough points for P6 in the standings.
Former F1 driver, Juan Pablo Montoya, however, feels that we will see a different Hamilton in the 2023 season.
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Lewis Hamilton will defeat George Russell in 2023
After a disappointing 2022 season, Hamilton hopes to make a strong return to the paddock with the W14. One of the Briton’s biggest targets in the upcoming season is clinching his record 8th championship title through which he will emulate the F1 legend, Michael Schumacher.
But for that to happen, the 38-year-old needs a championship-winning car from the Silver Arrows. If he does get that, there is no doubt that the 7-time world champion will storm through the track to take the glorious win.
Montoya thinks that Hamilton undoubtedly will beat Russell because the Briton is the type of driver who if given an opportunity to shine will grab it with both hands.
The Columbian driver further explained that the situation of 2023 was different for Russell since he is a young driver and he has to go flat out to prove himself every time.
Montoya expects that if Mercedes has a winning car again we will see a “different Lewis.”
W14 is better than W13
The Silver Arrows have given an update on their new challenger igniting hope among their fans.
As per reports, the Mercedes F1 team have drawn comparisons between both its challenger on the simulator and has only come up with positive responses.
The team completed their simulator comparison between the W13 at the start of the season with W14. W13 mid-season with W14 and W13 end of the season with W14.
After all these tests, both Hamilton and Russell felt improvement in the handling of the car, especially in terms of drivability. There has been no mention of porpoising.
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