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Lewis Hamilton is adamant that Mercedes will do things “our way” rather than copy Red Bull… as the Silver Arrows look to bounce back from a disappointing 2022 to edge out their title rivals.
- Mercedes finished well behind Red Bull in qualifying last season
- It has been suggested that they may try to copy Red Bull to close the gap.
- Hamilton insists Mercedes will do things its own way in 2023
Lewis Hamilton has vowed that Mercedes will stick to its own principles rather than try to copy ideas from other teams as they look to challenge for the title again in 2023.
The seven-time world champion 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 straight championship as Red Bull enjoyed a dominant campaign, and it looks like they will be the team to beat again this year. It has been suggested that Mercedes could look to copy Red Bull to improve its car and close the gap on its rivals, but Hamilton has backed Silver Arrows to pitch his ideas.
“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.
Lewis Hamilton insists that Mercedes will not look to copy Red Bull this season
Toto Wolff is hopeful that Mercedes can learn from the problems they faced last season.
“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.
Hamilton won six titles in seven seasons between 2014 and 2020, while Nico Rosberg picked up the other as Mercedes pulled away from every other team on the grid.
They fell back into the pack last year, with team principal Toto Wolff admitting the team struggled all year.
However, there were encouraging signs in the final races of the season, and the German wants Mercedes to build on his target until 2022 when the 2023 campaign begins.
“Last year was difficult but it came with a lot of learning,” Wolff acknowledged.
I hope that 2023 will be a proof that we have understood how to solve the problems and improve the car package.
‘Our car worked very well at the end of the season.
“However, we still had the famous bouncing at some circuits and the car never gave a good response to the drivers, which limited them from being able to really push.
“We’ve tried to keep all of the W13’s strengths and address its weaknesses.”
Pre-season testing will take place next week, with the first race of the year in Bahrain on March 5.