Mercedes have a 'good car' for Lewis Hamilton to fight Max Verstappen for record-breaking 8th title

According to Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff, Lewis Hamilton has "a good car" to try and contend for a record-breaking eighth F1 world title in 2023.

The seven-time world champion had to deal with almost back-breaking porpoising and lack of straight-line speed in the W13 during last year's championship. This resulted in him finishing 2022 without a single win or podium finish for the first time since he started out in the sport in 2007.

To make matters even worse for Lewis Hamilton, his main rival Max Verstappen romped to his second world championship with 15 wins in 22 races as he and Red Bull dominated the field.

Hamilton struggled to adapt to the W13 and ended the season with a 35-point deficit against his teammate George Russell.

However, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff is confident that Lewis Hamilton will no longer face the same scenarios as he did in 2022. While speaking to the media during the first day of pre-season testing in Bahrain ahead of the 2023 season, the Austrian said:

“You need to provide a good car for a driver that has the ambition to win races and championships and we have that. We want to win. At this stage last year, we knew we were in trouble because the car was bouncing around and we were not able to drive it correctly."

Wolff went on to add:

“But today, it is very different. The car seems to be balanced in the right way. There is no bouncing which is good news. It is a good starting point. We have had a productive morning.”

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Lewis Hamilton has logged countless hours on the simulator in an effort to evolve as a driver

Lewis Hamilton has admitted that he has been using the off-season to improve and evolve as a driver. Heading into the new 2023 season, the 38-year-old feels reinvigorated and ready to take the fight to the rest of the field when the lights go out in Sakhir next month.

Speaking following the launch of the new Mercedes W14, the Briton explained that he and the team have spent time introspecting in the lead-up to the new season. He said:

“I think not only as a team do we have to look at ourselves as a team and how we function, but I know ultimately I’m hired by the team. I have to look at how I operate, how I communicate, how I’d use my time and how I deliver results."

Hamilton revealed that he has logged a considerable amount of hours on the simulator as the new season draws ever closer. He went on to add:

“So I had to continue to be very critical of myself, to be able to understand where the bar is and where the goalposts are moving all the time. How you can evolve as a driver, that’s something I’m very, very focussed on. I’ve done more simulator running than I’ve ever done for the past 18 months, more time with engineers, more going over data and just continuously looking to see how you can evolve as a driver."

Lewis Hamilton's hard work will need to be complemented by the development of the W14 for the forthcoming season to be fruitful for the driver and Mercedes.