SILVERSTONE, England — Seven-time Method 1 champion Lewis Hamilton says it feels “surreal” to be coming into his final season with Mercedes earlier than becoming a member of Ferrari for 2025.
Talking as Mercedes unveiled its 2024 automotive at Silverstone, dwelling of the British Grand Prix, Hamilton mentioned it has been a privilege to work with the staff.
Hamilton has pushed for Mercedes since 2013, profitable six of his seven titles with the staff, however is leaving on the finish of the season to hitch Ferrari. The transfer has shaken up F1 and stunned Mercedes staff principal Toto Wolff.
“It has obviously been emotional,” Hamilton said. “It’s very surreal to be here, given I came here in 2013, so 11 years with the team, starting my 12th, and it is such a privilege to work with a group of people where you see the work they’re doing over the winter.”
Mercedes was resulting from do a short “shakedown” run at Silverstone on Wednesday earlier than heading to Bahrain for 3 days of pre-season testing subsequent week. The main focus shall be on “getting the team back to where we once were,” Hamilton mentioned. “I think we’ve had this difficult couple of years, which I think has been really grounding for us. It’s helped us regroup.”
Wolff mentioned the 2024 Mercedes automotive, the W15, represents “a complete relaunch” of the design. The livery brings again a flash of Mercedes’ conventional silver on the nostril after final 12 months’s mostly-black look.
“It’s very different, not only on the aerodynamic surfaces, but mainly underneath,” Wolff mentioned. “There are so many mechanical changes that we have done which we hope are going to translate into more performance, more predictability, a car that the drivers can really push, and we should be seeing next week in Bahrain.”
When the principles modified for 2022 to reintroduce ground-effect aerodynamics, Mercedes struggled to adapt. The staff didn’t win a race final season as Pink Bull and its driver Max Verstappen dominated all 12 months.
“We know it’s difficult, we know it’s a big mountain to climb because, if a team’s far ahead like the Red Bull was last year, that’s not easy,” Wolff mentioned.
“We have a superb driver combination, hopefully a fast car, the best people in the factory that are giving it all to succeed, I think there’s some very good ingredients to be back in the front again.”
Ferrari staff principal Fred Vasseur mentioned Tuesday that Hamilton’s arrival can be a “huge opportunity” for the Italian staff, which has not had one among its drivers win the world title since Kimi Raikkonen beat Hamilton in 2007.
Hamilton will staff up with Charles Leclerc at Ferrari in 2025, leaving Leclerc’s present teammate Carlos Sainz Jr. to hunt out a brand new staff for subsequent 12 months.
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AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing