Lewis Hamilton at odds with Toto Wolff as Mercedes boss misses Japanese GP
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Lewis Hamilton has insisted that Mercedes will not be looking to completely ‘bin’ their current W14 challenger at the end of the year. The 38-year-old’s verdict is at odds with that of Toto Wolff, who will not be in attendance at this weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix in order to undergo knee surgery.
Mercedes have made plenty of positive strides in recent months after ditching their unsuccessful ‘zeropod’ concept but remain some way adrift of Red Bull, who have been setting the pace virtually all year. Despite this, Hamilton is not expecting the Silver Arrows to make an entirely fresh start in 2024, with the Brit insisting that his current car is still a ‘masterpiece’ regardless.
“We won’t ever bin this car, these cars are still masterpieces even if they aren’t the fastest in the world,” said the Brit in Thursday’s press conference at Suzuka.
“There will be bits of it that we try to change, try to hold on to some of the positives. With the new direction we have it is far too early to say and be optimistic about next year’s car, but I have full faith in the crew.”
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It comes after Wolff suggested last weekend that Mercedes will completely ditch their W14 concept when the season draws to a close. The 51-year-old was adamant that while the current car is ‘really fast’, next year’s W15 will be a huge step forward after many months of relentless work behind the scenes.
“We will throw this one in the bin when it’s really fast and then embark on a new journey,” explained Wolff. “I think we have encouraging signs from the tunnel of a balanced car that’s going to be more together, and we have answers to our questions, so we are really looking at the results with an encouraging perspective.”
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Wolff also confirmed last weekend that Mercedes will change the ‘bones’ of their existing design philosophy, which has remained largely the same following the widespread technical regulation changes at the start of 2022.
“The car that we put on track in 2022 is fundamentally, the bones are the same,” the Mercedes boss told F1TV. “We are going around in circles a little bit in how we can improve the car and it’s difficult.
“We are working on changing those bones for next year, which means we see a lot of potential but you are also starting in a position where you can’t really predict the outcome. But flat-out, this is the mindset at the moment.”
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