Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is said to be under tremendous pressure to improve the W14 as the team finds itself short of time.
The Silver Arrows saw a poor start to the 2023 season at the Bahrain GP. Lewis Hamilton finished P5 while George Russell could only manage a P7 finish. Both the cars found themselves several steps behind the Red Bull, Ferrari and even Aston Martin.
Sky Sports expert/ presenter Naomi Schiff explained that the Mercedes team is short on time to deliver a championship-winning car to Hamilton.
At 38 years of age, the Briton is not getting any younger and while Fernando Alonso is setting an example of how far one can go, time is of the essence.
Recent developments in the Brackley-based camp have shown that the team is under a lot of pressure from the drivers internally. Schiff, although, believes that the intensity is higher from Hamilton since he has been waiting for his record eighth title for the past two seasons.
Toto Wolff is making personnel changes
Mercedes’ downfall began in the 2022 season with the problem child W13. While the team became hopeful of positive strides in 2023 following improvement in W13 towards the end of the 2022 season, the first race of the current season brought disappointment.
Following this, Wolff recently brought back its former top designer James Allison to the team. In doing so, he fired an ultimatum at current technical director Mike Elliott.
Furthermore, Wolff has also announced some radical changes in the car in the coming races. It is not a secret, that the team is looking to completely revise its W14 concept to reduce the gap to the front.
Lewis Hamilton rumoured to leave Mercedes
Ever since the controversial end of the 2021 championship season, Hamilton has been looking for a way to win the title.
For the most part of the 2022 season, Hamilton raced behind Red Bull and Ferrari and the same was the case in the 2023 season opener. Of course, the 7x world champion is frustrated but he was still optimistic that the team would find a solution.
After the race in Bahrain, the Briton told the media that he had told Mercedes to rectify certain mistakes but they did not listen to him.
Amidst all of this, the Briton’s contract talks are yet to be finalised with the Silver Arrows. The 38-year-old has no plan to retire just yet but no solid negotiations over his contract have been held yet. Does this mean that Hamilton might explore other options amid W14 woes?
Well, there have been rumours that the 7x world champion could move to Ferrari if the prancing horse did move ahead in terms of pace.
According to Sky Sports’ Simon Lazenby Hamilton is desperate for his eighth title and Mercedes is way behind in the rankings.
In the past, Hamilton has even spoken about his desire to drive for Ferrari, but whether or not that will materialise is open to speculation.
Also Read: Lewis Hamilton Could Complete Dream Ferrari Move if Mercedes Keeps Making Mistakes With Car
