Lewis Hamilton's 'I told you' moment as he explains his 'team didn't listen to me' comments in Bahrain

Lewis Hamilton recently explained his previous comments about how Mercedes did not listen to him about their car's development. After the 2023 F1 Bahrain GP, the seven-time world champion claimed that he told his team what was wrong with the W13, but they did not listen to him or fix the issue. This stirred up a lot of talk about him and Mercedes.

According to PlanetF1, Lewis Hamilton backtracked on what he said after the first race of the season and further explained what he meant. He stated that he, as an F1 driver, is ultimately the conduit through which the car performs on the track. Though he admitted that he was not always correct, he was confident that he had identified the problem with the car. The Brit said:

"I’m one of those people that always likes to be right, but I’m not always right, but in this scenario I was right. So it was good, it was like, ‘I told you’. It’s a team collaboration. At the end of the day, I’m the driver, not the designer, but I’m the gateway to the car’s performance, so we’re just working on continuously trusting each other in what we try to give back."

Furthermore, Lewis Hamilton clarified that Mercedes does listen to him most of the time. All the world titles they have won together over the past decade are a testament to their trust and exceptional communication. However, he emphasized the need to own up to mistakes. He concluded:

"They do listen to me, I mean look at the success we’ve had over time, so we listen to each other. We’ve had our disagreements and that’s inevitable in relationships. What’s important is just owning up to it – ‘ok, I was wrong’ or ‘you were wrong’ or whatever it is, and then just huddle up, we’re a team, so how can we fix it? What are we going to do? How much energy are you going to put into it?"

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Lewis Hamilton skeptical about Red Bull's sidepods on Mercedes W14

After watching Mercedes struggle at the start of the 2023 F1 season, many are talking about whether they will scrap the zero sidepod concept and instead draw inspiration from Red Bull's RB19 sidepods.

Lewis Hamilton, though, is skeptical of Red Bull's sidepod concept on the Mercedes W14. Speaking to Sky Sports F1, he said:

"People keep talking about getting the new sidepods on the car but it's not as simple as that. You put the Red Bull sidepods on our car and it won't change a thing, it literally won't change a thing, it might even go slower."

Without a doubt, Red Bull's RB19 is the fastest car on the 2023 F1 grid. Aston Martin, which somewhat copied their sidepod design, has also considerably improved and propelled itself up the grid.