Lewis Hamilton Blames F1’s Aerodynamics for Not Catching Up With Arch Nemesis Max Verstappen

Lewis Hamilton is struggling with the Mercedes car for another season. After a winless campaign last season, the Briton has complained that the 2023 car, the Mercedes W14 is unstable to drive.

While the 7x champion has not found his old winning form, arch-rival Max Verstappen is on a winning spree. The Dutchman claimed 15 race wins to claim his 2nd championship in 2022. Powered by the extremely fast RB19, the Dutchman looks set to complete a hat-trick of titles this season.

Hamilton shared his thoughts on the RB19 as the fastest car he had ever seen. However, seeing Red Bull dominate F1 since the new age regulations kicked in has left the Mercedes driver unsettled with F1’s unfulfilled promises.

Lewis Hamilton is unhappy with the aerodynamics of the current generation of F1 cars

Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes have been most affected by the 2022 regulations change. The Silver Arrows were unable to capitalize on the change and fell short of rivals Red Bull in 2022. Hamilton has not achieved a single pole or win since the 2021 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

The new regulations introduced in 2022 emphasized improving racing in the sport. It aimed at reducing the “dirty air” emitted by cars allowing for far more overtakes. With Max Verstappen and Red Bull walking away with another title, the 7x champion claims the regulations have not been effective.

Hamilton claimed, “I think it’s still a little bit better than the previous generation of cars but hasn’t delivered everything it said it would. So there are some improvements expected for the future.”

 

Hamilton believes the Red Bull RB19 is the most dominant F1 car he has seen in his career 👀

Do you agree with him? 💬#SaudiArabianGP pic.twitter.com/Hrz7jyHonz

— Motorsport.com (@Motorsport) March 20, 2023

A major problem seen due to the regulations changes was porpoising. The bouncing of cars at high speeds troubled Mercedes drivers in 2022. The team struggled to fix the problem which cost them the season.

Hamilton feels the bouncing effect has been eliminated this year. He added, “I think last year for us was pretty bad with the bouncing because you’ve got the turbulence and the bouncing. This year we don’t have the bouncing, so we have fewer issues following cars.”

Hamilton claims Max Verstappen is in a different league

Hamilton has made another confession after claiming the RB19 as the fastest car he has seen. The 7x champion has accepted that his arch-rival Verstappen will be unstoppable this season.

The Dutchman obliterated his competition in 2022 and according to the Briton, he’ll do it again this year. Hamilton simply stated, “Max is in another league.”

Hamilton and his teammate Russell managed to overtake the 2x champion during the Australian GP. However, the Red Bull driver managed to overtake the 38-year-old after the race restarted.

 

🗣️ | Lewis Hamilton on Max Verstappen and the RB19:

“Max is in another league,”

“His car is so fast and he passed me halfway down the straight and he was several metres ahead.”

“I don’t know how it is so quick on the straight, it is just insane.” pic.twitter.com/C7bAtKRhY7

— Verstappen News (@MV_Updates) April 2, 2023

Hamilton claims, unless Mercedes manages to match Red Bulls’ straight line, and speeds their downforce, it will be impossible to beat them. He replied, “His car is so fast and he passed me halfway down the straight and he was several meters ahead. I don’t know how it is so quick on the straight, it is just insane.”

Although Hamilton criticized Mercedes for not listening to input, the podium in Australia has eased the pain. The Briton believes the team has taken a step in the right direction and performances will improve over time.