Lewis Hamilton reveals that much has not been changed in his Mercedes W13 since the Bahrain Grand Prix and Jeddah will be the same.
When Mercedes told the F1 world that they were struggling in 2022, everyone thought they were sandbagging. But indeed, they were not lying when they struggled during the Bahrain Grand Prix.
Though, they managed to get a decent result by ending P3 and P4. But it wouldn’t have been possible if both Red Bull cars hadn’t retired.
The issue with porpoising was apparent. The world champions were losing pace on the straights due to excessive bumping. Hence the problems lie there.
Now, Mercedes going into Jeddah is again not favourites for the race. During Friday’s FIA press conference, Lewis Hamilton revealed that their car hadn’t been changed much.
Hamilton: We have not changed much in the car. We are working flat out at the factory ro understand what the issues are and fix it. Hopefully, with the smooth surface it won’t be as bumpy.
— Junaid #JB17 (@JunaidSamodien_) March 25, 2022
Also read: Lando Norris talks about the Lewis Hamilton record he broke
Lewis Hamilton hopes the track hasn’t changed much
The last time when F1 raced in Jeddah, Hamilton won the race. Therefore, he does have some memorable moments from last year and hopes the track remains the same.
Considering, Jeddah is a new track. They are bound to make some changes on the fastest F1 street circuit to solve some safety concerns, as several members within the F1 community pointed out how dangerous the track is.
But Hamilton personally doesn’t want the track to add in some unnecessary changes. So, it wouldn’t be wrong to assume that the Briton thinks the circuit suits him.
Hamilton says he hopes they haven’t made any big unnecessary changes to the circuit taking away from what it was last year.
— Junaid #JB17 (@JunaidSamodien_) March 25, 2022
Where does Mercedes lie this weekend?
While Mercedes is struggling on the straights, they are considerably faster on corners. Meanwhile, the midtable teams still are somewhat behind them in terms of pace.
On the other hand, McLaren has downforce issues that keep them far behind the top grid. So apart from Red Bull and Ferrari, Mercedes would beat any other team this week.
So, it would be safe to expect the two Mercedes drivers to finish between P4-7. Now, it remains to be seen how they perform this weekend in Saudi Arabia.
