“It’s been same all year”: Lewis Hamilton laments on Mercedes’ ‘very unpredictable’ W14 challenger

Lewis Hamilton elaborated that his comments on the radio after the qualifying session at the 2023 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix were referring to the unpredictability of the Mercedes W14. Speaking to Sportskeeda after the qualifying session, the Briton elaborated on his frustration with this season's car.

Qualifying eleventh on the grid at Yas Marina, Lewis Hamilton was unable to make it into Q2 for the second consecutive race weekend. Despite his teammate George Russell qualifying on second row of the grid in fourth place, the Mercedes champion struggled to clock a lap quick enough to place him in the top 10. He was heard ranting on the radio about the difficulty of driving the W14 around the track in Abu Dhabi.

Talking to his engineer after the getting knocked out from the second, Hamilton said:

“There’s something not right with this car mate.”

Asked by Sportskeeda to elaborate on what he was trying to convey on the radio, the seven-time World Champion said:

“Just a very been a very unpredictable car, its been the same all year.”

Explaining the difficulties of extracting pace from the W14, he added:

“It’s not more consistent as before, per corner to the moment you hit the brakes, the moment you turn to the moment you hit the apex, its definitely out of balance. Its very hard to predict what’s going to happen.”

Suggesting that the cornering and balance of the car itself was not in the right window, Lewis Hamilton felt that the W14 was not as consistent as it was before. Therefore he felt it was hard to predict how it would unfold in the race the following day. The British champion felt that the car been similarly inconsistent and hard to predict all year along.

The 2023 season has been a difficult one for the Mercedes camp in general, particularly with the performance of their car compared to their rivals. While their contemporaries stepped up their game coming into the preseason test, the German outfit had to switch concepts mid season to match up. Despite being placed third in the Driver’s Championship, Lewis Hamilton has struggled during many race weekends due to lack of pure pace.

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Lewis Hamilton is glad its the last race of the year

Lewis Hamilton stated that he was relieved that a difficult 2023 season with the Mercedes W14 is coming to an end.

Hamilton mentioned that he will be hoping to turn it around in the race on Sunday from 11th place on the grid, for one last time this year.

Asked if he was relieved it was the last qualifying session with the W14, he said:

“I wont say that Im relieved. I’m definitely happy that it’s getting over.”

Asked by Sportskeeda if dropping temperatures between the sessions made a difference, Lewis Hamilton said:

“No tyres were fine. Just the car.”

About his confidence with the race pace, he said:

“I did a little bit of a longer run this morning but I only got four laps yesterday. So I wouldn’t say so.”

Concluding his media session, he said:

“I’ll try, I’ll try to turn it is I can and see how far we can get up.”

Lewis Hamilton sits firmly third in the Drivers Championship, ahead of Carlos Sainz, with one race to go. His consistency through most of the season has made him eclipse the likes of Fernando Alonso and stronger cars such as Ferrari this season. However, in the Constructor’s Championship, it will be important for him to get a solid result to help the team retain second place ahead of Ferrari.