The weekend of the 2022 Formula 1 United States Grand Prix was marked on the calendar by the Mercedes team, and it is that the Germans introduced the latest update to their W13 in the remainder of the campaign. Thanks to this, those from Brackley managed to take over the second row of the grid, benefiting from the penalties against Charles Leclerc and Sergio Pérez, even the team manager, Toto Wolff , indicated that they could have improved three tenths their best record, which that would have placed them at a similar level as the Mexican’s RB18.
Already in the race, after Carlos Sainz was forced to retire due to a contact with George Russell in the first corner, they placed themselves with the seven-time champion in a quite favorable situation to achieve a victory a year later. With the development of the test and the different strategies, the Germans enjoyed the duel between Hamilton and Verstappen in the final laps, but the battle turned in favor of the Dutchman once again.
The various safety cars and incidents had the star’s dreaming again of climbing to the top of the podium with a driver who was rumored last winter to retire after losing his eighth world title in Abu Dhabi.
Lewis Hamilton kept his silence for months, and a few weeks before the new course began, he made a publication on his social networks in which he claimed to return stronger than ever. Although the single-seater has not accompanied, the Englishman has managed to collect seven podiums, and continues in search of victory that would make him break the tie with Michael Schumacher in number of consecutive seasons with a victory in Formula 1.
The Mercedes boss is aware of the effort the seven-time world champion has put in to return to winning ways, and he still thinks what happened at the last round of 2021 affects him.
“Last year is something that will weigh us down for the rest of our lives,” Wolff said. “We are talking about motorsport and not the real world, but from a sporting point of view, it will weigh us down forever.”
“Given where we started the season, we were miles apart and had big setbacks, so it’s good to catch up little by little,” continued the Brackley outfit chief. “And we owe it to Lewis [Hamilton] to give him a car that is capable of winning and fighting for championships again.”
The British driver has repeatedly stated that he has worked much harder with his engineers and mechanics to solve his problems and have a car capable of being among the best in 2023. For his part, Toto Wolff defends him: “His development as being human is incredible, driving the car we are all seeing what he is capable of doing, but on the other hand, how he develops to support the team”
“That has had a tremendous impact, because when we go down [the level], normally it is the pilot who drags everyone, but in our case it has been the opposite, he has returned to the engineering room as much as if he had had a bad race, as if we have messed up with the strategy”, he commented.
“In the past we called the contractor drivers, they took a big check and then they went to the next place, like the footballers, but in our case, there is no contract anymore, it is a driver who is part of the team and, like all the other members, respects the collective contribution, so it’s fantastic to see that evolution,” said the Mercedes boss.
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