Lewis Hamilton right about the “criticism” of Mercedes’ W14 in this aspect

Lewis Hamilton has had a long list of problems and complaints about the W14, with one of the main problems appearing to be where he is sitting.

Hamilton points out that the position of his cockpit was further ahead compared to the other drivers and shows the same in a side-by-side graphic of the driver's cockpit, where he is considerably ahead of the Red Bull duo.

In the words of the seven-time world champion in an interview with Sky Sports:

"I don't know if people know, but we sit closer to the front tyres than all the other drivers - our cockpit is too close to the front,"

Adding further, he said:

“When you’re driving, you feel like you’re sitting on the front wheels which is one of the worst feelings to feel when you’re driving a car."

Former teammate of McLaren and 2009 World Champion Jenson Button sheds light on the issue, and here is what he had to say about Lewis Hamilton's problem:

“The way he drives, he’s quite aggressive on the throttle, quite aggressive on the brake and he does everything through the steering wheel, so he really needs to feel what’s happening through the rear of the car through his arms."

According to Button, this is the reason he doesn't have the required confidence to push the car. With W14 still being tricky and needing more improvements, he isn't able to get the most out of it.

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Lewis Hamilton felt ignored when he urged mechanics to make changes to the car

F1 Grand Prix of Canada

Lewis Hamilton felt ignored when the team stuck with the design despite their slow start to the new season and disappointing results in 2022, even though he had encouraged mechanics to make adjustments long ago.

Mercedes later flipped, and Damon Hill thinks Hamilton 'got one over' his boss Toto Wolff by compelling them to make modifications to the car. Mercedes has finally revised its W14 design to resemble the Red Bull vehicle.

George Russell, however, has not voiced any criticism of this specific component of the car. Russell outqualified Lewis Hamilton at the initial three races this season and finished ahead of Hamilton in the drivers' standings in his first season with the team last year.

According to Button, Russell has a different style of driving. He said:

"George is a driver that always tries to keep the steering wheel as calm as possible, do everything through the throttle and brakes, manipulating the car that way, he's probably not going to react so badly with this change to the car."