Lewis Hamilton’s Expectations Shot Down in Flames as Mercedes Fail to Find the “Sweet Spot”

Mercedes had an extensive set of upgrades ready to feature at Imola. However, the cancellation of the race owing to devastating floods has delayed their plans. The Silver Arrows will now feature the upgraded car on the street circuit of Monaco next weekend. However, Lewis Hamilton has been cautioned not to get his hopes too high.

Just a few days ago, Hamilton spoke highly about the team’s morale and mentality. As they continue on their journey of arguably the biggest slump they have seen, Hamilton praised them for not losing focus. He also spoke about having big expectations from the upcoming upgrades and talked about “counting the days” before it comes to fruition.

Lewis Hamilton warned against getting his hopes too high

Ever since Hamilton’s agonizing defeat against Max Verstappen in 2021 in Abu Dhabi, Mercedes hasn’t been the same. Last year, they struggled to cope with the ground-effect regulations and the resultant porpoising issues. After failing to win any race in the season for the first time in his F1 career, he showed faith in the team to bounce back. Those hopes came crashing down in 2023 when the car did not possess enough pace to take the fight to Red Bull. Once again, he’s been asked to hold his horses as Mercedes prepares to bring a new set of amendments.

Veteran F1 journalist, Peter Windsor, in one of his recent YouTube videos said, “If you’re hoping it’ll suddenly make it as quick as a Red Bull, I think you’ll be pretty let down.”

“If you’re looking for something that might give them a little bit more consistency – a larger sweet spot [or] operating window as they call it – maybe it’ll do that.”

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Before Windsor, team boss Toto Wolff and Lewis’ teammate, George Russell, played down the significance of the upcoming upgrades. Are they trying to play it cool or are the upgrades really not good enough to reap any significant rewards?

Toto Wolff lowers his expectations from the upcoming changes for the W14

The bigger part of Mercedes’ revamp includes a big upgrade in aerodynamics. Following that will be a change of the floor of the car and then the front suspension. As of now, the results on the simulator show positive signs. However, as we have seen by now, reality often throws a curve ball. That is exactly what Toto Wolff is afraid of.

Auto Motor und Sport recently quoted him as saying, “The upgrade package is a big intervention. In the virtual world, it promises a good step in terms of lap time. But we have to curb our expectations. In my 15 years in Formula 1, I have not yet seen that someone suddenly came with a miracle weapon that suddenly brought half a second. That’s why I have my doubts that this is the case here.” [Translated using Google]

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Mercedes fans are waiting as eagerly as Hamilton to see how much of a performance enhancement the upgrades will bring. Keep your fingers crossed, LH Army.