Lewis Hamilton has highlighted the challenges that he has endured driving Mercedes’ W14 Formula 1 car this year. Entering the current season, Mercedes was hopeful that it would be more competitive than the previous campaign when it dropped back in the order amid the introduction of new technical regulations. However, it is yet to take a race win, with its last victory coming at the hands of George Russell at the 2022 São Paulo Grand Prix, with Hamilton's best results in 2023 being a pair of second places in Australia and Spain. In total, the seven-time champion has scored four podiums this year amid a season of Red Bull dominance and currently sits fourth in the Drivers’ Championship, six points behind former team-mate and old rival Fernando Alonso of Aston Martin.
‘Not easy to navigate'
Last year, Hamilton made a number of sacrifices at several race weekends in order to offer Mercedes learnings regarding car set-up, with the high downforce package for Singapore potentially suiting the car where it has typically been strongest. The 103-time Grand Prix winner says he has not been forced to undertake as extreme an approach this year - but insists the car is still difficult to drive. "[It’s] similar, maybe not as extreme as last year," he told media including RacingNews365. "I've managed to be a lot more consistent this year, I think with the set-ups. "But then you look at the last two races [in the Netherlands and Italy]. It started good in FP1 and then it really fell off for the rest of the weekend. "So it's not an easy car to navigate. But it's something we're constantly learning about and constantly trying to do better as engineers and as a driver."
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