Lewis Hamilton gives his verdict on the new Mercedes upgrade introduced at 2023 F1 US GP

Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton said that the new floor brought by the team in Austin was not necessarily a signifier for the next season.

Mercedes brought a new floor as a part of their last big upgrade package of the year at the COTA this weekend. It seems like the new upgrade has worked for the team as the seven-time world champion was able to put his car in the top three for the main race after the qualifying session.

Lewis Hamilton was in contention for the pole position throughout the day and looked competitive from the first time he put the W14 on the track. However, in his post-qualifying press conference, he claimed that the new upgrade might not be a signifier for the next season as they are still experimenting.

He said:

"I don't know really if it's a signifier of anything for next year. As we continue to experiment, we get more and more knowledge of where we are going, and where we are routing the flow of the car. The floor is not a huge amount different, so it's… There's always hype with someone's upgrade, but the rest of the car is exactly the same and there are lots of areas in which we can improve.

"But this is an improvement. This is one of the first upgrades that I've actually felt over the last two years. So that's, that's a positive and we just need two or three times this step to put us in, you know, super competitive mode, which I believe the guys can do."

Lewis Hamilton gives his take on fight for P2 against Sergio Perez

Lewis Hamilton pointed out that he wasn't really too focused on finishing ahead of Sergio Perez in the driver's championship as his goal is to finish first.

He said:

"I mean, all of us are pushing to finish first. So I think it will be just a showing of really, you know, resilience and strength and depth from our team. I think we had a difficult year last year.

"So to be fighting for second in the Constructors and obviously trying to hold that position to these two guys. And, yeah, I mean, I don't know whether or not we'll catch Sergio but given the difference of our cars throughout the season, I'm really proud of the work that we've done."

Lewis Hamilton trails Sergio Perez by 30 points with five races to go in the 2023 championship.