“Will be the start of something new,” Lewis Hamilton desperate to see the Imola Mercedes upgrades succeed

Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton have had a sub-par start to the 2023 F1 season. Ever since the rule change came into play, the team has been garnering an overwhelming disadvantage compared to their competitors. Having not won a race throughout the 2022 season, there are hopes that Lewis and the Brackley based squad will be able to change that.

After the first race of the year in Bahrain, it became clear that the W14 needed some major changes in its design philosophy. Toto Wolff stated that the team would be taking a different direction. There weren’t many changes in this year’s car compared to last year which due to which some problems have been carried over. Meanwhile, Max Verstappen and his RB19 have been completely dominating since the start of the new era.

After what was a mediocre race in Baku for both Lewis Hamilton and George Russell, things might actually be taking a turn for the better. Mercedes will be introducing some major upgrades at Imola which the 7 time F1 world champion has put all his bets on. During the post race interviews in Baku, the Brit explained what was in store for the team in for the future.

Related: Aston Martin urges F1 to ‘keep its DNA’ amidst radical Baku race weekend changes

Lewis Hamilton is unsure whether the Imola upgrade will work

In an interview with Sky Sports, here is what he had to say. “It’s just taking some steps… I think this is just a build to getting to where we need to be. And that’s all we can ask for right now until we can get those upgrades – which will hopefully put us much more in the fight,” he said. There is no guarantee over the success rate of the planned upgrades. Nevertheless, Lewis is optimistic.

“We knew from early on we’d have some races until this upgrade, so I’ve just been counting the days and weeks down,” he said. “We don’t know exactly how good the upgrade will be, but we know it will be the start of something new for us,” he concluded. The team will be pursuing an agressive mid season development plan to catch up with Red Bull and Ferrari.

The Formula 1 circus has arrived at Miami to race this weekend. While Max Verstappen is the sole winner of the race which made its debut last year, Mercedes hopes to change that. Lewis Hamilton and George Russell will be aiming to get a good result at Miami. Tackling the car’s issues will be a key factor in the development of the 2024 Mercedes.

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