After the podium at the Canadian Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton stated that he no longer wishes to conduct so many set-up tests on the W13. According to the Englishman, this is a job that takes time and often disrupts the whole weekend
The podium at the Canadian GP was much celebrated by Lewis Hamilton. Not only because he was able to keep up with the leaders in the race, but also in the face of one of the strangest weekends for Mercedes in 2022. The case is that, once again, the team decided to conduct a series of set-up tests on the enigmatic W13 to understand what to improve and how. On Friday, the seven-time champion defined the different setups as "a disaster" and said he drove the worst car he ever had in his hands in Montreal. The scenario has changed by Sunday, but still, Hamilton understands that it is time to stop focusing on so many experiments.
It all happens because of the difficulties Mercedes is encountering with its own design. The porpoising still seems chronic, but there are other problems that the silver squad tries to understand in order to exploit the car's potential and gain performance. And this is what Hamilton has been working on in the last stages - even because of his experience, Lewis has been taking the lead in the tests done by Mercedes throughout the season. "Maybe in the second half of the season, George can do the tests," the Briton replied in a statement to Autosport magazine's website.
And although the start was difficult in Canada, the W13 that took to the track on Sunday looked competitive and fast. "I think going forward we will be a bit more cautious about doing so many experiments, because it really messes up the weekend, especially if you only have the first two free practices with dry track and the third one not, for example," said the driver of the #44 car.
"I think we have a lot of lessons to learn from this weekend, as well as improvements we can make from now on," he added after the race at Gilles Villeneuve.
"We really had great race pace and it was good to see that. That wasn't always the case with this car, but it was amazing to have that performance," he added.
The next F1 round will be at the home of the Englishman - another stage where Lewis has dominated in recent years. Even to Silverstone, Mercedes intends to bring a significant package of updates, repeating what it did in the Spanish GP. And although he doesn't cultivate any hopes of contending for victory, Hamilton thinks the German team will be able to keep up the good momentum.
"I'm really looking forward to Silverstone, because it's an important race for us and for me," he said. "I just want to be in the fight with these guys. At the end of the race in Canada, with the safety-car and everything, I thought we could do it, that we could find a way, only they were too fast. But we will get there," he concluded.