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Looking at the competition! Lewis Hamilton enjoys a cheeky look at Red Bull among his other rivals in his spy mission at F1 pre-season testing in Bahrain, as the seven-time world champion tries to come back on his feet this season.
- Lewis Hamilton shamelessly overhauled Red Bull and other rival cars in F1 testing
- The seven-time champion wandered between the cars on the Bahrain track.
- Hamilton, 38, failed to win a single race last season for the first time in his career.
Lewis Hamilton cheekily overhauled the competition in 2023 Formula One pre-season testing in Bahrain as he targets a turnaround season.
The seven-time world champion took his time and got extremely nosy while looking at the other drivers’ cars, especially the Red Bull car during a round before testing.
The 38-year-old was anything but subtle as he wandered around and looked at the other team’s cars as the drivers began testing ahead of the 2023 season in Bahrain.
Hamilton failed to win a single race last season for the first time in his career, while teammate George Russell was only on the top step of the podium once Mercedes finished off the pace in qualifying.
Max Verstappen won his second consecutive championship as Red Bull enjoyed a dominant campaign, and it looks like they will be the team to beat again this year, making it a car for Hamilton to watch out for once again.
Lewis Hamilton was extremely nosy while watching the Red Bull during F1 testing in Bahrain
The seven-time world champion had a good partner inside his rival Max Verstappen’s car
Hamilton also checked the car of his other rivals while walking around the circuit in Bahrain.
Hamilton was also photographed walking past his fierce rival and reigning champion Verstappen as they wandered around before taking to the track to test their new cars.
Despite being curious about what Red Bull had to offer, Hamilton previously denied that Mercedes tried to copy ideas from other teams at the launch of its new car earlier this month.
“Of course, you can see that some of the cars are getting closer to what a Red Bull could be, maybe with the exception of Ferrari,” Hamilton said when Mercedes launched its W14 car this week.
“I don’t think we’ve ever been a team that copied other people.
“We’ve always had our own ideas and we’ve always been an incredibly creative and innovative team and like to do it our own way. And I think that has worked in the past.
Pre-season testing is already underway with the first race of the new season in Bahrain on March 5.
Hamilton was also photographed walking past his fierce rival and defending champion Verstappen.
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff also recently opened contract talks with Hamilton, but negotiations have been reduced to just one conversation so far.
Wolff confirmed: ‘We’ve done some of these contracts in the past and they change little from one iteration to the next, so it’s not complex aside from the obvious terms.
“We had a first conversation, but I don’t want to commit to any timeline because it’s not important to him or to us. He has a full year to race and we will find the right time.
“He seems in great shape, very positive, motivated, full of energy, perhaps the best I’ve seen so far in his 10 years with us.”