“Red Bull Aren’t Standing Still”: Lewis Hamilton & Co. Given Grim Update as Overhaul Project Faces Mighty Risk

Just when you thought that perhaps good days are ahead for Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton, you’d be quite wrong! With the past two years being seasons to forget for everyone on the team, the upcoming season also doesn’t come without a shadow of a doubt. As the overhaul project of Mercedes faces a mighty risk, Lewis Hamilton and Toto Wolff receive an unfortunate update regarding the 2024 season.

The 2023 F1 season is arguably the worst for Lewis Hamilton and Toto Wolff. Considering that Hamilton has never really failed to win an F1 race, besides the 2022 and 2023 seasons should be enough to tell you how bad Mercedes’ current project is. Moreover, with Red Bull having a considerable advantage over their arch-rivals, is the upcoming season also doomed for the poor Silver Arrows?

Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes: Already doomed to face a risk in 2024

In the recent podcast episode of ESPN’s Unlapped, Katie George and Laurence Edmondson sat down and discussed the future of Mercedes and what risks they might face. However, unfortunately for any Silver Arrow fan listening to them, things aren’t looking that great for you guys. With the team already expected to finish the 2023 season winless, Edmondson delved deep into when the fans can expect to get a clear picture of Mercedes’ 2024 season.

Edmondson stated, “We should get a clearly fair picture within the first few races of next year. Last year they said exactly the same thing, we’ve understood what we’ve done wrong, we’re gonna make the fundamental changes we need to make to our concept, to then set it off now.”

Laurence Edmondson also provided a throwback to a saying from James Allison, Mercedes F1 Technical Director. According to Allison, working on the concept of a car is somewhat similar to climbing a mountain. He further stated, “But then that’s all well and good, and you get to the peak and you see where you ultimately have got to. But if you decide halfway through actually we got the wrong concept, and look over, over the horizon you see a tall mountain, you want to start climbing that, well that’s all well and good, you’re eventual point may be higher up, but you gotta go all the way down and start climbing all the way back up again.”

“So this is the risk that Mercedes has by completely changing what they’re gonna do with the car going forward is the they’re gonna come down from the concept that they have, and they’re gonna have to start, more and less you know, with the bottom, with another one.”

He ended his statement by delivering bone-chilling news for Mercedes fans, stating “Now, I think, as I said, they’ve started to explore some ideas, of course, the work on next year’s car would have been going on for a very long period of time, and there are some sounds, you know, some noises of optimism coming from Mercedes, but, the problem is that Red Bull aren’t standing still“

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Ouch, certainly not the best time to be a Mercedes or Lewis Hamilton fan! In all honesty, if Red Bull somehow manages to get an even upper hand on Mercedes with their aerodynamics and engine department, the Silver Arrows might have to look forward to the 2026 season.

With Mike Elliott already gone, is Mercedes already looking doomed for the 2024 season?

For Toto Wolff, as if having to surrender to Red Bull dominance wasn’t soul-crushing enough, he also has to deal with the departure of one of the most crucial members of his team, Mike Elliott. The now-former chief technical officer was arguably detrimental to Mercedes regaining its long dominance. But with him already gone, is this an early indication of things going completely south at the Silver Arrows?

Toto Wolff wouldn’t agree with that as following his departure, he stated, “I think we have such a strength in the organisation that you can take one out and everybody else is going to cover that, and the other way around, so I don’t think that’s going to change anything for next year.”

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With the Mercedes overhauling project facing a huge risk, Lewis Hamilton and Toto Wolff have unfortunately received a grim update. Moreover, as an important member of the team leaves, will the Silver Arrows crack further? Or will they prove everyone wrong by coming back to their best self?