ZANDVOORT, Netherlands – Lewis Hamilton is impressed by the ability of Red Bull’s chief technical officer, Adrian Newey, to always oversee the design of Formula One cars that run ahead.
Hamilton went up against Red Bull’s Max Verstappen for the title last year, but a rule change this season saw Mercedes relegated.
Meanwhile, Red Bull retains the leading edge of the field, with Verstappen leading with the championship 93 points ahead of teammate Sergio Perez with eight races remaining.
When asked if he was impressed with Verstappen’s performance this year, Hamilton switched the conversation to Newey and the Red Bull design office, expressing how impressed he was by the team as a whole.
“I was even more impressed with Adrian Newey and his team,” he said. “I think it’s a great team; they’ve usually had really great cars for a while.
“They’ve done a great job and whatever I’ve said in the past about the team, I don’t mean it negatively. I think years ago I said something about them being a beverage company. , and I just really emphasized that you would bet more on a car company, but they proved me wrong and everyone else.
“But also knowing that Adrian did his thesis on ground effects vehicles when he was in college, it’s no surprise that he did and created this year. It’s impressive but I believe in gunners. young on our team and we’ll catch up.”
Hamilton, who is 138 points ahead of Verstappen in the standings and is not in contention for the actual title, said the rest of his season will be spent getting Mercedes back into the grid in 2023.
“I still enjoy the challenge of fighting this car, because you get in there and it’s a fight,” he said. “Gosh, the amount of engineering we do to dial it in is so complex, and I’d say it can increase your reach to improve your technical side. So I’m here. really liked that.
“There will be a lot of information to be gained in the second half of this season and as a driver I want to figure out how I can improve and make sure things like the last race don’t happen. [again]. Right now, I’m really focused on trying to articulate exactly what I’m feeling in the car and what I want in next year’s car, and make sure it gets done.
“It’s all moving too fast and they’ve gone to a state where the brakes are off or the front suspension and transmission are on now, so everything is done so far, so make sure you catch them before they subscribe to everything and achieve things that maybe in the past we didn’t have time to really focus and get a better foundation for the future.
“I’m enjoying it, and we’ve won the last eight assists, I have a little bit of confidence in my team that we’ll get there, with only a cost cap. and [limited] Now the wind tunnel is not as easy and simple as before. But that doesn’t mean we can’t get there. “
