As the 2023 season nears its end, Mercedes had quite a disappointing Qualifying session in Abu Dhabi. With the threat of Ferrari looming large over them, as per a report by RaceFans, Lewis Hamilton has revealed the W14 is out of balance more than ever.
After the Qualifying session, Hamilton said, “It’s more inconsistent than ever before. It’s just up and down.” He further commented, “It’s massively out of balance and very hard to predict what will happen.”
An honest assessment from Lewis Hamilton#F1 #AbuDhabiGP pic.twitter.com/WOBWUijay5
— Formula 1 (@F1) November 25, 2023
Hamilton explained that things are the worst while taking the corners. Right from the moment he hits the brakes to the moment he turns in, the car behaves in an extremely unpredictable manner, making it hard for him to take the corner properly with full confidence.
The same was quite evident during qualifying as the seven-time world champion only managed to qualify P11. He got knocked out of Q2, while teammate George Russell improved on the final run to qualify an outstanding fourth. With the likes of Fernando Alonso and Sergio Perez ahead of Hamilton, it is expected to be quite a difficult race for him.
To make things worse, Charles Leclerc will start P2. Since Ferrari are only four points behind Mercedes in the Constructor’s championship, a good performance by the Monegasque could result in the Silver Arrows losing their coveted P2 spot at the last race of the season.
Lewis Hamilton cannot wait for 2024 to start
Toto Wolff had explained during mid-season how important P2 in the standings is for Mercedes. As per the team principal, it will give them quite a boost of confidence heading into 2024.
Irrespective of how Mercedes finish the 2023 campaign, Hamilton is already looking ahead to 2024. As per Mercedes, their next year’s car will be quite different and should be much better than the current W14.
However, even if Mercedes do lose P2 in the Constructors’ Championship this season, it will not be the worse outcome for them. This is because the team will have some extra wind tunnel time heading into the 2024 campaign.
