Lewis Hamilton & Co. Awaits End of an Era as Alarming Fallacies Tipped to End 11 y.o. Pristine Run

Despite helping Hamilton win his 8th world championship and cementing a legacy only matched by Ferrari, the past two years haven’t been kind to Mercedes. With Max Verstappen and Red Bull ending their dominance and starting one of their own, RB has spectacularly defeated the Silver Arrows. Now, with their 11-year-old pristine run set to end this season, Lewis Hamilton and co await a sad end to an era.

2023 has not only been a year to forget for Mercedes but also for Lewis Hamilton. Considering their win drought, things are not looking too well for them. Moreover, with McLaren and Red Bull being the top performers, Mercedes’ 11-year-old record of winning at least one race in every season might soon come to an end.

Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes are soon to witness the end of an era

In a recent podcast episode of an ESPN F1 show, the Unlapped, F1 pundits, Katie George and Lawrence Edmondson reflected on the Brazilian Grand Prix weekend. However, the talk of the town was, of course, Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes. Who also happens to be going through one of their worst periods in F1, ever! Especially after Toto Wolff cited the W14 as not deserving of a win.

Edmondson went in-depth about the current situation of Mercedes, as he stated, “Yeah, so we’ve seen that number of points this year where the car has been really bad and the first one was in Bahrain, the very first race, where Toto Wolff basically wrote off the season and concept. And let’s be honest, he was right. That car hasn’t won a race. You gotta remember that Mercedes have at least won a race every year since 2012. So, assuming that they don’t win either of the next two races, the odds are probably against them. Given the circuits we’re going to, they face you know, this end of a run we obviously saw things slip last year.”

Talking further went on to elaborate on where it went wrong for Mercedes and why Red Bull is ahead of them. He stated, “In 2022, they got the fundamental concept of the car wrong under these new regulations and they’ve struggled ever since. But, you know, with a team like Mercedes, the expectation having won eight constructors championships prior to that is that you then get it right. You figure out what’s gone wrong and you get it right, and they didn’t and they made similar mistakes or they stuck to their guns on things and they basically just underestimated as well what Red Bull were gonna do over the winter. And the step that Red Bull were able to find with their concept. “

Lawrence Edmondson ultimately got down to the nitty-gritty of the performance of W14 by explaining how the W14 has shown glimpses of improvements, but ultimately failed to do so at the Brazilian Grand Prix. He further added, “So there’s been little signs of it getting better but there’s just fundamental things baked into this car, basically the chassis design, the layout of it, the suspension, things like that which they can not change. They haven’t been able to change it this year and they’ve desperately been wanting to. So the real test of it all comes next year.”

READ MORE: Launch of World’s 1st F1-Inspired Tractor Draws Wild Mockery of Ferrari and Mercedes’ Failures

The in-depth analysis by Edmondson perfectly highlights how much of a disaster the W14 has been. Moreover, with the current season most likely to be over, and a win at either the Las Vegas or Abu Dhabi Grand Prix looking far from likely, it’s in Mercedes’ best interest to focus on the 2024 season. Because if the next season also ends up being a disaster, god knows how they’ll cope with that.

Can Mercedes change their fortune at the Las Vegas GP?

If anyone needs to change their fortune, it’s Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton who desperately need to end their season on a positive note. With a winless season almost on the horizon, now would be the best time to show up. Moreover, with the Las Vegas Grand Prix having an unclaimed throne, getting a win here would be quite a sweet deal for Toto Wolff and his team.

With the end of the 2023 season approaching soon, it’s in Mercedes’ best interest to end the season with a win. Doing so would not only uplift the mood of the team but would also help Lewis Hamilton feel more motivated to fight for the 2024 season.

WATCH THIS STORY | Lewis Hamilton Sounds Off the Alarm Bells for Mercedes F1

Following a disastrous Brazilian GP, Lewis Hamilton and co await the end of an era with Mercedes likely to win this season. With their 11-year-old run of winning a race set to end soon, it’ll be interesting to see how they approach the next season.