Lewis Hamilton Reveals Mercedes Boost Amid Japanese Grand Prix Success

In the wake of a somewhat tumultuous start to the 2024 Formula 1 season, Lewis Hamilton has expressed newfound confidence in the Mercedes W15 following a particularly encouraging qualifying round at the Japanese Grand Prix. Despite facing a series of setbacks earlier in the season, which led to one of his worst starts in any season, including a disheartening engine failure in Melbourne, Hamilton’s recent performance indicates a notable upswing in both his and the team’s grasp of the vehicle’s development and potential.

The recent weekend in Japan marked a turning point, with Hamilton expressing renewed optimism about the direction of the Mercedes W15’s development. Notably, Hamilton managed to secure a position in the top five during practice sessions and earned a seventh-place start for the race—his highest qualifying position of the year, surpassing his teammate George Russell for the first time this season.

Hamilton’s improved performance, closing the gap to Max Verstappen’s leading pace in the Red Bull to just six-tenths, signifies a substantial improvement over his previous outings at Suzuka, where the Milton Keynes squad has been strong. This progression, according to Hamilton, stems from a change in his approach to car setup, moving away from the experiments he’s been showcasing unsuccessfully so far.

“The team did a really great job this past week understanding—or making adjustments to—our setup,” Hamilton detailed in a discussion on the Sky Sports F1 broadcast. “It’s actually the first weekend I’ve not gone crazy with setup and testing a bunch of things, so I’m back to being a bit more normal and I think we’ve got the car into a much nicer working window.

“Every lap, it’s been really enjoyable driving, it’s just the guys ahead are just a little bit faster.

“We were just over a second off the Red Bull last year and seven [sic] tenths is better. I think, if we’d done something a little bit different, maybe we could have been another tenth faster. Maybe. But other than that, that was everything.

“I think what it’s given us is that I know exactly where the car is not strong enough.
I can feel it in the car and I know now to be able to like tell them: ‘Push in this particular area.’

“I’m hoping the race will be stronger and I’ve really enjoyed driving the car this weekend.”

Hamilton’s comments suggest not only a closer race this weekend but also a level of confidence not seen in the seven-time world champion in the past two years. If his race pace confirms this newfound confidence, then perhaps Mercedes has finally discovered what it has been searching for in its data. Should this prove to be true, it could provide a clear direction for future development, with Hamilton expressing hope for a stronger performance in the upcoming races.

He was asked about this by Sky Sports:

“I personally believe so. What we’ve noticed is from track to track it’s been really, really hard to get the setup right and it’s been so far out each time.

“In some places you just felt like nothing we could do gets the car in a sweet spot, but this weekend it’s much more in a sweet spot. So I hope that continues in the following races and then we’ve just got to add performance.”

The challenge of achieving the right setup has been a recurring issue for Mercedes, with Hamilton inclined to experiment with less-standard configurations in an attempt to find a larger operational window for the struggling car. In contrast, Russell has preferred more traditional setups. However, the progress in Japan suggests a pivotal improvement in finding the car’s “sweet spot.” This development is expected to guide the team’s strategy in upcoming races, aiming for consistent performance enhancements and more competitive showings.

Hamilton’s revelations at the Japanese Grand Prix underscore a critical phase in Mercedes’ 2024 campaign, signaling a potential turnaround in the team’s fortunes. The adjustments made and the insights gained are expected to serve as a foundation for the team’s efforts to refine the W15, fostering a more optimistic outlook for the remainder of the season.