Mercedes chief shares Lewis Hamilton and George Russell’s biggest problem

Mercedes’ technical director James Allison has revealed that the unpredictable nature of the W14 on corner entry is the biggest problem facing Lewis Hamilton and George Russell on track this season.

The team’s 2023 challenger has undergone a dramatic transformation this season after the team scrapped the ‘zeropod’ design concept that was birthed with the car’s predecessor, the W13, ahead of the Monaco Grand Prix.

Hamilton and Russell hoped the pivot to a more conventional design would make the car more stable and predictable to drive, but the pair have yet to get comfortable with the handling, despite having half a season of experience behind the wheel.

Speaking to the Mercedes website about the areas of the W14 that need addressing this summer, Allison explained: “Bread and butter downforce is always a good thing. We are also trying to make the car more reassuring for the drivers when they initially turn in. 

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“It feels too reactive. And then when they get to the apex they have the opposite problem, where we want it to bite at the front and it doesn’t. It’s unstable when you first turn the wheel and then annoyingly dead when they get to the apex. We want it the other way around. That’s what we are working on.”

The unstable nature of the W14 has been a particular issue for Russell, who has struggled to hold a candle to his experienced team-mate’s results after initially impressing during his maiden season with the Brackley-based team.

Despite the challenges posed to the drivers, Hamilton has managed to extract four podiums from the car so far this year, leaving him just a single point behind career-long rival Fernando Alonso in the standings.

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However, while Hamilton’s performances remain consistent, the seven-time world champion has been far from content with the machinery underneath him. The 38-year-old recently explained that his driving ability isn’t enough to make up for the W14’s shortcomings, leaving the team unable to challenge Red Bull.

Many of the issues facing Mercedes this season were triggered by the team’s cautious development path during the winter. “The story of our year so far has been mostly about finding out that we had been too cautious and making the changes to correct that,” Allison explained.

The good news for Mercedes is that Hamilton knows what he wants from the car moving forward and with the ‘zeropod’ concept now firmly a thing of the past, the team can be more ambitious with their design philosophy for the W15. 

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