Lewis Hamilton in a Mercedes during practice on September 2, 2022 REUTERS/Piroschka Van De Wouw
Lewis Hamilton is happy to leave his whimsical Mercedes in history, but the seven-time F1 world champion is in no rush to finish this season.
138 points behind Red Bull leader Max Verstappen with eight races to go, he told reporters at the Dutch Grand Prix that his focus will be on next year’s car and every lap counts. rice field.
Hamilton, who fought Verstappen for the title until the controversial final lap of 2021, said: “I love the work we do regardless of where we are fighting first. .
“I still love being with the engineers and mechanics.
“And I still enjoy the challenge of fighting this car every day…The amount of engineering we have to do to tune it is tricky and it’s probably your job to improve the engineering side of things. You could say that it just heightens your sensitivity.
“I don’t want to let the time run out…there will be a lot of information in the second half of the season.”
The 37-year-old, who has the longest unbeaten streak in history, said he is focused on feedback.
“That’s where I really spend a lot of time. It’s communication with all the heads of different departments to make sure you don’t turn a stone inside out,” he added. .
“It could be the brakes, it could be the gear ratios, the suspension, the ride, the aerodynamics… just help guide them in terms of where they’re going to design next year’s car.”
Hamilton said the key elements should already be approved.
“[It]is about making sure that they (engineers) get a hold of those things before they approve them and put them in the pipeline.
“I’m enjoying it. We’ve won the last eight world constructors’ titles and I believe the team and the engineers can get there.”
“It’s just not as simple and easy as it used to be because of the cost cap and (limited) wind tunnel time, but that doesn’t mean we can’t get there.”
Reigning Red Bull champion Max Verstappen is 93 points behind his closest challenger, team-mate Sergio Perez, after 14 of 22 races.
