Lewis Hamilton Remained Perplexed After Toto Wolff And His Mercedes Aides Dwelled on ‘Wrong Philosophy’

In 2022, Mercedes came out with a no-sidepod concept that was initially hailed as an innovative aero design even before W13 ran the tracks. But soon into the season, several fundamental problems were observed in it.

Despite that, Mercedes decided to stick with their radical remodeling and is now clearly struggling even this season. With that, reports indicate Toto Wolff can end up dropping the concept for conventional designs that could grant them better results.

However, it left Lewis Hamilton baffled by the Silver Arrows’ decision to even remain with the same design. When he first witnessed W14 with the same fundamentals, he reveals, he knew at once the new car wasn’t right to compete for the championship.

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Lewis Hamilton perplexed Mercedes sticking with the same philosophy

During the press conference, Hamilton was asked about his recent comments on Mercedes not listening to his suggestions while designing the car. He responded that his wording was slightly incorrect while stating the difference of opinion within the team.

But he also reveals he was surprised by erroneous decisions by the team during the winter as Mercedes decided to stick with no-sidepods concepts even after it showed in 2022 that it would not work.

“I knew that we weren’t in the right place when you saw the car for the first time. It looked still so much different from our competitors,” he said.

He admits that the design and color of the car attracted him. However, he doesn’t care about that until he gets a car that can win races. Nonetheless, he hopes Mercedes will ‘mold’ the car into winning ways soon in the season.

Mercedes needs to make bold decisions

The time for Mercedes to bounce back into the season is running out. Even though it’s only one race into the season, Mercedes has a huge void to fill against the teams which are currently doing better. By Hamilton’s own admission, Red Bull is almost 1.5 seconds faster than them.

Henceforth, the seven-time world champion insisted his team needs to make some bold decisions even to consider closing the gap against Ferrari and Red Bull. However, he adds that the Milton-Keynes-based outfit would likely run away with the title by the time the gap, even with radical moves, could be filled.

But Hamilton’s purpose in getting a better W14 over the following rounds is to have some success in their hands before this season concludes. As of now, Mercedes is bringing in minor changes for the race in Jeddah, but it’s unlikely to reshape the Brackley-based team’s fortune on the track.

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