Lewis Hamilton stated during the previous season that he didn’t feel comfortable in the W14 because he thought the cockpit was positioned too far forward, which limited his sense of interior space.
He said that the cockpit is “too close to the front” while elucidating that Mercedes sit “closer to the front wheels than all the other drivers.”
Following the 2023 seat complaints, Lewis Hamilton says he has a “better feeling.”
One of the worst sensations you have when operating a vehicle is feeling as though you’re sitting on the front wheels.
Hamilton had to wait for the delivery of the brand-new W15 to fix the problem, thus the team was unable to address it at the time.
And Mercedes accomplished precisely that with the W15, moving the seat 10 centimeters backward.
Although it might not seem like much, Hamilton says it has made a big difference and now has a “better feel for the car” after setting the pace in Bahrain on Thursday.
“I’ve finally moved my seat further back because I can feel the car better coming around corners,” he remarked.
However, Hamilton clarified that this is by no means the only problem Mercedes has addressed, saying, “There are areas that have been fixed and improved.”
It’s a great base for us to work on; all we need to do is keep chasing after it. “It feels like a race car for once and the last two cars didn’t feel like that.”
George Russell: Mercedes paid attention to what Hamilton asked for
George Russell, Hamilton’s teammate, claims that this year the team has listened to the seven-time World Champion, following his shocking revelation last year that Mercedes told him “you’re wrong” about the car—a revelation he reiterated in Netflix’s Drive to Survive.
That does not imply, however, that they have overlooked his need for the car.
“Lewis and I have worked extremely hard to help guide the team in the direction we want to go,” Russell said to members of the media, including Thomas Maher of PlanetF1.com.
Lewis had his experience in mind when designing the vehicle, as evidenced by the fact that it is positioned farther back than it was the previous year, has side pods on the side that resemble Red Bull, and has a slightly altered steering rack.
“Well, that the team has been sort of listening to that is good, but we need to see if it results in lap time.”
“I think as any driver you just need to adapt to whatever you’re given,” he continued, “and I’m happy with the changes that were pushed into this car.”
This season, we’re moving further into the past. It’s a minor adjustment for me—neither better nor worse.
