Lewis Hamilton reckons Mercedes can catch arch-rivals Red Bull by the end of 2023

Lewis Hamilton insisted that Red Bull will eventually lose its pace advantage over the course of the season.

Lewis Hamilton reckons Mercedes can catch arch-rivals Red Bull by the end of 2023

Lewis Hamilton

Red Bull Racing has dominated F1 since the new regulations introduced in 2022. The Austrian team increased its advantage over the winter. Mercedes which won multiple back-to-back championships since 2014 fell behind the Milton Keynes team. As the Silver Arrows have only had one race win since 2022. However, Lewis Hamilton is convinced that the German team will bridge the gap with Red Bull soon.

The 38-year-old acknowledged that it will not be easy to close up to the Austrian team. Although the British driver believed that the Red Bull RB-19 will likely only evolve in its development from its current stage. Lewis Hamilton said, “I‘m aware that it could take a long time to catch a car – if you look at the Red Bull, is just going to continue to evolve most likely.”

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The 7-time world champion highlighted that a team could plateau in performance from such a level – it’s not easy to sustain an upturn in performance. As it eventually loses its lead over its rivals. Hamilton stated, “Although some cars do plateau in terms of performance when you get to some point, it can’t just keep going. But maybe it can.”

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Lewis Hamilton emphasized the need for Mercedes to work continuously to match Red Bull. The British driver predicts that the Toto Wolff-led squad can reduce its performance deficit by the end of this season. He explained, “We’ve got to make sure when we do make the change, hopefully, the job isn’t too far and it’s going to take us the rest of the year for sure to potentially close that gap.”

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Lewis Hamilton “grateful” for Mercedes changing the design philosophy of the W14

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The Silver Arrows will do away with the zero sidepods design

The Mercedes F1 team admitted that its zero sidepods’ design concept could not match its competitors. As the W14 fell far behind the Red Bull RB-19 designed by aerodynamics genius Adrian Newey. Lewis Hamilton hopes that the Silver Arrows can finally get their act together with its new concept. He continued, “There’s a part of me that’s just hopeful that we find the trick and we’re straight onto the right track that’s not far away from the others.”

The 38-year-old had mentioned previously that the team decided to not take his suggestions into account for the car’s development. Luckily, Mercedes’ design switch would bring it more in line with Lewis Hamilton’s preferences. Hamilton thanked the team for this switch. He concluded, “The guys can go full steam ahead in that direction. I’m grateful that they are open to making a shift and not being stuck with what we have.”

Thus, Lewis Hamilton believes that Red Bull will eventually lose out on its massive pace advantage. Mercedes have been working on significant updates for the upcoming rounds as the Silver Arrows try to get back to winning ways. As such the 38-year-old is confident that his team will be making progress over the course of the season. As Hamilton tries to get back on the top step of the podium in F1.

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