Damon Hill warns Lewis Hamilton about EMBARRASSING himself by dragging Mercedes ‘in the wrong direction’ over the W15 design 

Lewis Hamilton consistence demands played a major role in Mercedes dropping the zero-side pods conceptof W14.

Damon Hill warns Lewis Hamilton about EMBARRASSING himself by dragging Mercedes ‘in the wrong direction’ over the W15 design 

Lewis Hamilton and Toto Wolff (Via IMAGO)

Mercedes has officially announced plans for significant car changes in car concept for the next year at the Japanese GP.  Lewis Hamilton stated that Mercedes will require major upgrades to catch up with Red Bull in 2024 and has been preparing ideas for the W15 re-design. Now, 1996 F1 world champion Damon Hill has cautioned Lewis Hamilton about potentially embarrassing himself by steering Mercedes in the wrong direction.

Mercedes is going through a season filled with performance fluctuations. The W14 retained elements from the failed W13 concept of 2023. While there have been recent improvements, the team needs to make significant progress. It changes to their car design to secure Hamilton an 8th World Championship title, along with giving George Russell a shot at securing his maiden title.

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During Sky’s post-race coverage, Damon Hill recognized Hamilton’s frustration, noting that Hamilton is putting in his best performance but not seeing the desired results. Hill also stated that Hamilton, as a driver, does possess the qualifications to instruct the engineers regarding car design.

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“He’s not a designer. Up against a Cambridge qualified engineer and designer, you can’t argue as a driver! The competitive instinct in Lewis tells him that he’s got to communicate it to the team. He could be wrong! It could be embarrassing if you drag the team in the wrong direction,” said Damon Hill, as reported by Crash.net

Discover: Lewis Hamilton is 100% sure the car concept is the reason for Mercedes’s 2023 woes

Lewis Hamilton claims that if McLaren can narrow the gap to Red Bull, then Mercedes can do the same

McLaren began the season with the seventh-fastest car, on average, during the first five Grands Prix. However, substantial upgrade packages have helped them into narrowing their gap with Red Bull, as seen at the Japanese GP where both the McLaren MCL60 secured podium finishes.

Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton after British GP (Credits: @SirLewisUpdates/Twitter)
Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton after British GP (Credits: @SirLewisUpdates/Twitter)

Lewis Hamilton recognized the substantial changes McLaren has made to their car, and he emphasized that the evidence of their progress is undeniable. He further stated that Mercedes should look closely at McLaren’s developments and move in a similar direction.

“The evidence is there, at McLaren, we’ve got to look at what they’ve done and go in that direction,…That is the direction. Hopefully with the change of philosophy, we will be back to where the team deserves… I have absolute faith in everyone,” Hamilton said.

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