"It’s not been my decision to go that way": Lewis Hamilton on Mercedes' 'wider sidepods' concept

Lewis Hamilton recently spoke about Mercedes' new upgrade package, discussing the introduction of the traditional sidepod design used by almost every team on the F1 grid in 2023.

The Silver Arrows looked strong in the Spanish GP, with both Hamilton and his teammate, George Russell, finishing on the podium. The race saw the debut of the new upgrades to the car, pointing to signs of something positive for the German outfit.

According to silverarrows.net, Lewis Hamilton stated that the team discussed introducing the sidepod concept for a while before finally bringing them to the car and shifting the car concept towards Red Bull's, something the British driver was not in support of. He said:

“We have had a lot of input as a team over the past year. Those constant conversations of ‘why does that look like that and we look like this, have we tried that?’ We now have the wider sidepods, more in the direction of Red Bull, and it’s not been my decision to go that way."

Hamilton discussed this year's car further, stating that the lower ride height of the W14 is quite similar to last year's W13, without the porpoising. The Brit admitted that the process of gradually bouncing back to the top of the grid will take a long time. He said:

“It’s been clear since we dropped the car back on the ground in the first test, it’s been the identical twin to last year’s car, except for the bouncing. We have taken note of where we are and where we have gone wrong, so we are slowly chipping away back to the front. It’s just a long process.”

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Lewis Hamilton determined to take the fight to Red Bull next year

After finishing second in the 2023 F1 Spanish GP, Lewis Hamilton is determined to work even harder with Mercedes and challenge Red Bull in 2024.

Hamilton urged Mercedes to focus on improving the car so that they can get a head-start into the season next year. Speaking to Sky Sports, Lewis Hamilton said:

"I think we are going in the right direction and I know we have something in the pipeline moving forwards. I'm hoping at least by the end of the year it would be great if we could challenge them. For me, I'm more focused on making sure that we have the car next year to challenge them from day one."

The 38-year-old added:

"The further we continue to push this car this year, the more that impacts next year also in some ways. The more we learn about this car also sets us in the right direction."

Even though the 2023 F1 season is still long, the first upgrade package brought by Mercedes looks quite promising. If the team continues to progress on the new development path, chances are they compete with Aston Martin and Ferrari to be the second fastest team on the grid.