After the new car design regulations kicked in 2022 onwards, porpoising was a big concern for all drivers and teams. Some cars bounced less while others had no limit to the bouncing. Mercedes was the worst affected as the drivers’ heads were visibly bobbing up and down as the W13 went down the straight. At the start of 2023, Mercedes Boss Toto Wolff had said that there would be no bouncing and that the car was balanced. But Lewis Hamilton has now publicly contradicted Wolff’s statements.

2022 was the worst season Mercedes has had in this decade. The pre-season testing in Bahrain this year was a good opportunity for the Brackey outfit to get as much information as possible. And based on what they got, Toto Wolff made tall claims of the 2022 issues being sorted out. But judging by their performance, there hasn’t been a considerable step up. And Hamilton voiced the same thing, explaining how frustrating these 2 seasons have been.

Hamilton said, as quoted by F1i.autojournal, “Last year was extremely difficult. I can’t even put into words the difficulties we had to face. The car was bad and we had to do a colossal job in order to be able to win in Brazil. But at the start of this season, we had the impression of not having solved any problem.”

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With the kind of 2022 season and the half of 2023 season that he has had, many drivers would crumble under that pressure. But the 7-time champion has shown grit and has already shifted focus onto the future.

Amid a Turbulent 2023 Season for Mercedes, Lewis Hamilton Has Already Shifted Focus To the 2024 Season

Hamilton’s fans may not like it when Wolff’s statements are not in line with what is actually happening. But when Wolff said that the team has let Hamilton down, a lot of people agreed with that statement. And right now, the team has nowhere to hide or escape. Their performance is subpar and the 7-time champion has been unable to fight Red Bull. So, he has to forcefully shift focus to 2024 as 2023 is as good as over for them.

“I don’t care where I stand in the drivers’ standings this year,” said Lewis. “I am mainly focused on bringing information back to my team, working with them to try to start next season on a good basis in order to challenge Red Bull from the start of the 2024 campaign.”

It has been heartbreaking to see Lewis Hamilton struggling for podiums. The man who has 103 victories to his name has to fight to stay in the points. His fans can only hope that Mercedes makes good use of the summer break. And that 2024 is even better than this year.

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