The 2023 Formula 1 season has been a one-sided affair so far, with Max Verstappen single-handedly crushing pretty much the entire grid for Red Bull’s constructors’ title victory. Furthermore, the Dutchman is now barely five points away from becoming the world champion at the Qatar Grand Prix Sprint. Hence, amidst such a triumphant season, Lewis Hamilton opined that a tough reality awaits Mercedes.
Mercedes were at their absolute peak in 2021, only for Red Bull and the FIA to shun the Silver Arrow’s hopes of retaining the throne in 2022. Of course, the optimism was quite high heading into the succeeding season, with Hamilton and Co. yearning for a strong resurgence.
However, quite unfortunately, 2023 has been anything but a good season for Mercedes, with neither of the drivers yet to win a race. Therefore, the focus has now shifted to 2024, and it was only weeks back that Toto Wolff acknowledged working on the W15 and hailing positive results in the wind tunnel. Interestingly though, Hamilton doesn’t seem to carry a similar level of optimism about the forthcoming campaign.
The seven-time world champion opined that 2024 could easily be another season of Red Bull F1 dominance, as Mercedes finds itself lagging behind its rival challenger by nearly a second. Hence, amidst such blatant difference in pace, it is seemingly impossible for the Brackley outfit to take on Verstappen and Co. next year.
Lewis Hamilton hopes for similar performance leaps to McLaren & Aston Martin in 2024
Hamilton opened up about Mercedes’ chances of catching up with Red Bull next year. And according to the Knighted British legend, the prospects of witnessing the aforementioned scenario are bleak. “Unfortunately, we’re not quick enough. We’re one second away [from Red Bull], It’s like, crazy,” Hamilton said in Suzuka, Japan.
🗣️ | 🇯🇵 Hamilton worried Mercedes won’t close the gap to Red Bull for 2024
“Unfortunately we’re not quick enough. We’re one second away [from Red Bull], It’s like, crazy.”
“To close that gap before next year, at this point to still be a second down on a track like this is… pic.twitter.com/nsy9XEVorv
— RBR News 🇳🇱🇲🇽 (@redbulletin) September 23, 2023
“To close that gap before next year, at this point to still be a second down on a track like this is definitely worrying for us as a team. There’s a steep gap that we have to close for next year but you’ve seen what the Astons did coming into this year, so they can make big steps. We’ve seen what the McLaren have done this year by going down the Red Bull route – they’re now ahead of us here on a track like this.”
Overall, the only hope for Hamilton is Mercedes emulating McLaren and Aston Martin’s massive performance jumps to inch closer to Red Bull. But, the question is, can they?
