Abu Dhabi gives a happy ending to the Merdeces’ 2023 season as they close in second place the constructors’ championship ahead of Scuderia Ferrari.
Despite being crowed vice-champions of the world, it cannot be said that for Lewis Hamilton it was a memorable ending. Eliminated in Q2 to start 11th, the seven-time world champion finished the race only ninth as his season came to an unusually tame end.
“Not great, I just finished ninth; two really bad races [seventh in Las Vegas],” commented the 103-time Grand Prix winner at the end of the race. For the Mercedes driver it was a very difficult year, constantly struggling to find the right confidence with the W14.
Hamilton also adds as in his opinion “it’s definitely a concern” the supremacy of RedBull, which won 21 races of 22. Plus the Austrian team has not brought updates since the Dutch GP and has also started the development of the 2024 very early during this current season as they had to balance their wind tunnel time due to reduction after breaching the cost cap.
“Red Bull won by 17 seconds and have not touched the car since August. So, you can pretty much guess where they’re going to be next year… I was just slow throughout the race.”
Photo Credit: Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team
When asked to give a report of the season and what it can be taken and being useful to the future, Hamilton in conclusion added:
“Not too much really. It’s not been a great year in general. So, there’s not a lot to take from the year. The fact that I survived it… that’s about it.
“But we’ve learned a lot about the car and it’s just down to the team now and they know what they need to do. Whether or not we’ll get there, we’ll see.”
