Lewis Hamilton has recalled the moment last year that Mercedes told him “you’re wrong” as he voiced concerns about the 2023 W14.
Last season Mercedes opted to continue with their zero-pod concept on the W14 despite only winning a single Grand Prix the previous year, George Russell P1 at the Brazilian Grand Prix in Hamilton’s first-ever winless campaign in the sport.
Whether that was Hamilton’s issue of contention, the Briton never said, but he did tell the BBC’s Chequered Flag podcast after the opening round of the season that Mercedes “didn’t listen” when he voiced his concerns about the car.
Now, in a clip from the latest season of Netflix’s Drive to Survive, released today, the seven-time World Champion has recalled how Mercedes completely shut him down when he tried to speak up.
“I remember complaining to the team and being like, look, we have to make these changes, otherwise this is the trajectory we’re going to go on and this is where we’re going to end up’,” he said.
“Please, please do something about it.
“I remember they said, we know what we’re doing, you’re wrong’.
“And that was definitely an interesting moment. I was like, okay, I’ll step back, don’t want to step on anybody’s toes.
“Then when we got into the season, then we spoke again [they said] ‘oh, maybe you were right’.”
Mercedes failed to win a single Grand Prix last season, the team even scrapped the zero-pods and implemented other notable changes as they overhauled the car ahead of the Monaco Grand Prix.
Although they did finish second in the Constructors’ Championship with Hamilton P3 in the Drivers’, 2023’s winless campaign meant the Briton’s drought is now up to 45 races.
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Hamilton billed the W14 as the “evil sister” of its predecessor with the Briton saying he’s almost forgotten what winning feels like.
“My goal is to get back on top and win a championship again,” said the 39-year-old. “But then we get in the car in 2023 and it’s the evil sister [of 2022].
“I can’t really remember winning, it’s been like a minute to be honest.
“I don’t remember what that feeling is. It is what it is, we’ve just got to take it on the chin and just acknowledge that we did not get it right, we took the wrong decision and start taking big strides in the right direction… before it’s too late.”
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