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Lewis Hamilton believes that Mercedes did not listen to him when he asked about the car concept for 2023; Toto Wolff has said “radical” changes will come as a concept car that falls short of the competition; watch the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix on Sky Sports F1 from March 17-19
Last updated: 08/03/23 18:55
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With Mercedes having made a poor start to the season, Sky F1’s Naomi Schiff reckons Lewis Hamilton will win a record eighth world title.
With Mercedes having made a poor start to the season, Sky F1’s Naomi Schiff reckons Lewis Hamilton will win a record eighth world title.
Lewis Hamilton says Mercedes is ignoring the development of its Formula One car this season after he raised “problems” with the concept.
Seven-time world champion Hamilton finished fifth in Sunday’s season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix, more than 50 seconds behind race winner Max Verstappen.
It was a sobering result for Hamilton, who complained before the race that Mercedes was on the “wrong track” and “either third or fourth”.
“At the end of the year, there was something I said. I said something about the car,” Hamilton told BBC Radio 5 Live’s Checkered Flag podcast on Wednesday.
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Get on board with Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso as former battle buddies at the Bahrain Grand Prix.
“I’ve driven a lot of cars in my life. I know what a car needs. I know what a car doesn’t need. I think about responsibility.
“It’s about owning up and saying, ‘Well, you know what? We’re not listening to you. It’s not where we need to be and we have to work.’
“We have to check the balance through the corners, see all the weak points and just concentrate as a team. That’s what we do.
“We’re still (multiple) world champions, you know? It’s just that we didn’t do it right this time. We didn’t do it last year. But that doesn’t mean we can’t go right.”
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Lewis Hamilton believes he got the best of Mercedes in fifth and he admits he needs to step up his performance if he is to challenge at the front.
Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff said in Bahrain that the Silver Arrows, who won eight consecutive Constructors’ Championships before last season, must abandon the controversial zero-sidepod concept to challenge again.
Most of the grid has followed the design philosophy pioneered by Red Bull last year when Verstappen dominated – and Hamilton’s Mercedes team-mate George Russell has predicted that the Dutch team will win all 23 races this year.
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Toto Wolff said the team had one of their ‘worst days of racing’ after Mercedes finished fifth and seventh at the Bahrain Grand Prix.
“One of the worst days of racing,” Wolff lamented Sky Sports F1.
“It’s not good, we just don’t have the pace up front, right and centre.
“Red Bull is just on a different planet. This is what hurts because it’s so far away, it reminds me of the best years because we just put a second to others.
“This is a benchmark and we have to do one step after another to come back and we can do that. We can, we really can.
“I think it should be more radical in the measures than the hope for a three-tenth upgrade.”
Sky Sports News has contacted Mercedes for comment.
What’s next?
The 2023 Formula 1 season continues with the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix from the fastest road track in Jeddah.
The action is all live on Sky Sports F1 from March 17-19, with Sunday’s race at 5pm.
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