Lewis Hamilton says the Silverstone shakedown made it clear that championship in F1 2023 wasn’t possible, but he is happy with the learning.
Now with the season done and dusted, several have noted about knowing their results even before the start of the 2023 F1 season. Both Toto Wolff and Frederic Vasseur suggested about the pre-season testing, but Hamilton has gone even before that.
The Mercedes driver states that already in their Silverstone shakedown, they had the feeling that they won’t be fighting for the championship at least in F1 2023. And so it happened as within few rounds, they decided to dump the concept for a new one.
The ‘zero-pod’ was gone as they started working towards 2024 in a new way. Despite the knowing of how 2023 was to be, Hamilton remains grateful of the things he and Mercedes managed to learn in the course of the season, where they secured second.
The pole in Hungary was is highlight which was unexpected especially how Red Bull and Max Verstappen were performing that time. “There are ups and downs within all seasons, and there were ups and downs,” said Hamilton to media. “And from the moment we started driving the car at Silverstone, realising that we’re probably not going to be fighting for a championship, and then just refocusing and resetting your goals, and then working towards catching up.
“I think it’s just really pleasing to see that we never gave up, and no one in the team gave up. Everyone stayed positive, and just how everyone showed up was super encouraging for me. I think we’re all always learning more about just appreciating the moment, appreciating each and every single individual in the team and those results we’re getting, and when we finally get a podium, we appreciate it perhaps more than ever before.
“And I think obviously the pole position in Budapest was the highlight, a track that I love. And to somehow dethrone the Red Bull for a single moment gave us a lot of hope, knowing that if we just keep pushing, we may get there,” summed up Hamilton.
Here’s F1 2023 teams’ tier order: https://formularapida.net/f1-2023-teams-categorised-in-tier-system-for-their-performances/
Here’s F1 2023 drivers’ tier order: https://formularapida.net/f1-2023-drivers-categorised-in-tier-system-for-their-performances/
Here’s team principals ranking Top 10
Here’s 19 drivers selecting Top 10 drivers of F1 2023
Here’s George Russell on not achieving what he deserved
Here’s Toto Wolff on Lewis Hamilton and 2050 table
Here’s Lewis Hamilton undertaking skydiving run
Here’s Toto Wolff on Mount Everest to climb
Here’s link to a F1 Discord channel, join in to interact