Lewis Hamilton had a decent result from the Belgian Grand Prix after securing a P4. Though he started from P3, losing a position was understandable, as Max Verstappen was expected to come down from P6 to win the race. However, before the race, he did expect to overtake Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari. But, as per his comments to SkySports, a haunting retreat of last year’s problem, bouncing, has returned to his Mercedes W14, arguably the second fastest car on the grid.
The W13 had a huge porpoising issue, which marred their 2022 issue, as the Silver Arrows’ most of the last season was consumed in solving that problem. This year, they had a sigh of relief when they solved that problem, but as per Hamilton, it has returned.
Let’s keep this up, Team. 💪 pic.twitter.com/B8IIO2Ixuc
— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) July 30, 2023
And he claims that the bouncing prevented him from achieving his objectives. The seven-time world champion also reveals that Mercedes can’t understand how the problem occurred, but it’s a concern for him now.
Lewis Hamilton anxious about the return of bouncing
Hamilton managed to bag the fastest lap point with a decent P4 finish. However, he reveals it was far from a smooth race and thinks going ahead; it could be a big problem as Mercedes is trying to maintain its P2 position in the standings.
“It was kind of a non-eventful race. There wasn’t much going on, and I couldn’t keep up with the cars ahead of me. We struggled at the beginning, the rear end is our biggest issue, and we had big bouncing this weekend, so we were back to the bouncing like we had last year,” said Hamilton after the race.
But for now, the season comes to a halt with the summer break. And most probably, before the season resumes in Zandvoort, Mercedes would have a solution to the problem, and Hamilton could be eyeing a win before the end of the season.
Mercedes would want to be the first side to beat Red Bull
Since the start of the season, Red Bull has not been defeated even once. Now, with the European leg of the season about to get over, where Verstappen is the strongest, the teams which are regarded as ‘the next to the best’ could be eyeing a win.
Max Verstappen’s season summed up in a radio message 😅 pic.twitter.com/GObqlQX44L
— ESPN F1 (@ESPNF1) July 30, 2023
Thus, Hamilton, who has not recorded a Grand Prix win, would fancy to extend on his illustrious record. Meanwhile, even McLaren, which has obtained a massive pace, would be in the line.
But as of now, Red Bull seems unbeatable on merit, and they would be eyeing an undefeated season too, which has never happened in the sport before. But someday, Red Bull’s reliability gives up, or the Dutchman picks a crash, other teams would want to pounce on that opportunity.
