Mercedes ‘relaunch’ for Hamilton final act
Briton ‘hungrier than ever’ in last year before Ferrari switch Wolff has Red Bull in sights after radical redesign of car
Lewis Hamilton insists he feels “the most motivated and focused” he has ever been ahead of his final season with Mercedes, adding it would be “the greatest honour of his career” to help the Brackley team get back on top before he departs for Ferrari.
Mercedes lifted the covers off their new challenger, the radically-redesigned W15, at Silverstone yesterday, before Hamilton and team-mate George Russell performed the shakedown. And Hamilton said he could not wait to get going.
“I feel the most motivated and focused I’ve ever been,” said the seven-time world champion, who turned 39 in the off-season. “I know every year you come back and you’re like, ‘I’m fitter than ever’. But I genuinely feel I’ve put more work and more time and more focus into my preparation this year.
“I never thought at this time of my life that I’d have hunger like I do now. And to finish on a high with the team would be the greatest honour, to help get them back to the top.”
The W15 is, in the words of team principal Toto Wolff, a “complete relaunch” following two uncompetitive seasons featuring just one victory.
Mercedes decided they needed to completely rethink the car following the poor start to last year, and the W15 looks very different. Gone is the so-called “zero-sidepod” concept, dropped in favour of a solution more akin to that pioneered by champions Red Bull.
Wolff said the major changes, though, were under the bonnet. “This is a complete relaunch,” the Austrian noted. “It is very different, not only on the aerodynamic surfaces but mainly underneath. There are so many mechanical changes that we hope will transfer into more predictability, a car the drivers can really push. We’ll see next week in Bahrain.”
Pre-season testing takes place in the Gulf kingdom next week, with the opening race of the season, also in Bahrain, on March 2.
Wolff, who recently signed a new three-year deal to stay on as team principal and chief executive, said the team had asked a lot of hard questions of themselves.
“We know it is difficult and a big mountain to climb because if a team is far ahead like Red Bull was last year it is not easy. But we have a superb driver combination, hopefully a fast car, and I think there are some very good ingredients to be back at the front again.”
Hamilton, who heads to Ferrari next year, said it was “emotional” and “surreal” to be going into his final season with a manufacturer with whom he has spent his entire career, the last 11 years of which have been with the Mercedes works team.
“It’s very surreal to still be here given I came in 2013, so 11 years with the team, now starting my 12th,” he said. “The learnings of the past two years have helped us find our direction. It has enabled us to find our north star. It’s going to be a work in progress, but we will face whatever challenges present themselves with our heads up, with open minds, and work through diligently.”
With Mclaren also launching their 2024 challenger yesterday, Red Bull are now the only team left to break cover.
Today’s launch at Milton Keynes promises to be a spectacularly awkward affair, with the ongoing investigation into team principal Christian Horner following allegations from a female colleague of inappropriate, controlling behaviour expected to drag on for some time yet.