Mercedes is going through a difficult moment after the start of the 2022 Formula 1 pre-season tests, where they have largely accused porpoising and difficulties in stopping the car under braking.
During the first week of testing in Barcelona, the German team was unable to resolve the rebound effect of the W13 , and this setback persisted in Bahrain, where the first round of the campaign will be held.
After shooting three days with the updated German single-seater with the pontoons reduced to the maximum, Lewis Hamilton is pessimistic about the car’s performance, something unprecedented in recent years at Mercedes.
After getting out of the car on the last morning of testing at the Sakhir track, the Briton showed some concern because he considers that they are not in the fight for victories, much less for the championship: “It’s a bit early to have this kind of thought, but at the moment I don’t think we’re going to fight for victories.
“There is potential within our car to achieve this,” continued the seven-time champion. “We just have to be able to extract and fix some of the issues, which is what we’re working on.”
Although what is holding Mercedes back from finding W13 performance seems similar to what happened 12 months ago, before turning it around and winning on the first date on the same stage, Hamilton disagrees, explaining that the situation is different. .
He suggests that Mercedes’ work to improve the car requires more than just adjustments to the set-up: “There are a lot of different things, it’s not that good. the race”.
“I think that this time we have bigger challenges, and they are not things of a week”, recognized the English. “It will take us a bit longer, but from what I’m told, we have a considerable amount of pace still to find.”
Although Hamilton has not been very optimistic in his comments after finishing testing in Bahrain, he has not lost faith that his team can find a long-term answer.
“Everyone is doing an amazing job in the factory, as much as they can, but we have some hurdles to overcome. Next week we will show better pace,” said the Briton.
“I think people will maybe be surprised, or at least people keep talking about how we’ve lowered the bar, but this year it’s different,” the Mercedes driver concluded.
