Lewis Hamilton calls on Mercedes bosses to react ‘now’ to the lack of pace, dissatisfied with the results for the Formula 1 2022 season. 

With Mercedes is still struggling to overcome the problems that have affected the W13 since pre-season F1 testing, Lewis Hamilton wants the team to not waste a moment figuring out how to make progress. It is clear that Mercedes cannot afford to wait another two or three races for potential development updates, which is why they will be pushing hard with the German carmaker’s factory.

“There is a lot of work and there will be a lot of calls, of course,” Hamilton said about his plans ahead of the next race at Imola.

“I’m chasing the people who are in the wind tunnel, the aerodynamics guys, and I’m looking at absolutely every single area,” he said. “There’s performance to be gained in areas we know about. And we need that now. Not in two or three races,

“We all know as a team that we just need to keep that encouragement and keep that energy up.”

Although Mercedes is currently second in the constructors’ championship and George Russell is behind Charles Leclerc in the drivers’ standings, the gap in pace between Ferrari and Red Bull remains clear, and it is big. And while closing that deficit won’t be easy, Hamilton remains confident that Mercedes has more room for improvement with their car in order to chase Ferrari and Red Bull.

“I prefer to remain optimistic,” he said.

“There are 20 races to go. If you think realistically, with the way the sport is going in terms of everyone’s development, the top teams often develop at a similar pace and rhythm. I really hope I can get into the battle soon,

“Yes the gap is quite big at the moment, but there is still a long way to go.”