F1: Mercedes cannot write off 2022 car yet

(GMM) Lewis Hamilton says Mercedes would be wrong to write off the troubled 2022 project and immediately start working from the drawing board on next year’s car.

While the car has shown signs of improvement recently, the seven time world champion was once again grappling with extreme handling problems at Monaco.

“I pray that the car is not like it was in Monaco,” Hamilton said when asked about the next race at Baku.

“It was the worst moment I have experienced in this car so far, simply because of the bumps. I want them to go away now – my teeth and jaw were vibrating so badly and I finished the race shaking.

“I don’t know if it’s related to the porpoising, but we didn’t have it in the last race,” he added.

Lewis Hamilton in Monaco – Photo by Steve Etherington for Mercedes F1

As time goes on, and Mercedes’ title chances look ever more distant, some have suggested Mercedes should simply scrap the current concept and start working on a new car philosophy for 2023.

“I haven’t really thought about that,” said Hamilton.

“But I think we have to find out what’s wrong with this car before we can make another one. If we started to build another car we could easily make a mistake.

“I think it’s about fully understanding this one, which is something we haven’t achieved yet, so that we have an idea of which path to go down,” he added.

However, he admitted to being very sure about “a lot of things I wouldn’t want from this car in next year’s car”.