“There’s nothing you can do about it”: Lewis Hamilton worried about one aspect despite recent Mercedes upgrades

Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton has claimed that despite recent upgrades on the car, he is uncomfortable with the seating position on his W14.

In the 2023 season, the W14 has its drivers sitting closer to the front wheels which has caused some problems in reacting to the rear-end instability. The seven-time world champion had complained about the situation with his cockpit previously but recently accepted that he had to deal with the situation as is.

As quoted by F1i.com, Lewis Hamilton said:

“There’s nothing you can do about it, that’s just the way it is. The only thing you can do is ultimately try to slow the rate of rotation and stabilize the rear end. That’s something you try and do on mechanical balance, but you’re just limited with the tools you have.”

Lewis Hamilton explained why he isn't a fan of the current seating position, adding:

“If you look at the past, I’ve always enjoyed an oversteering car. [But] we sit closer to the front wheels than all the other drivers. 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. It makes it harder to predict compared to when you’re further back and sitting more centered.”

Lewis Hamilton gives his verdict on the W14 concept change mid-season

The Briton also gave his take on Mercedes ditching the 'zero sidepods' concept to go to a Red Bull-esque solution. As per PlanetF1, Lewis Hamilton accepted that the new suspensions are a big positive for him, saying:

“The new suspension was a real positive for me. It gave me a lot more confidence [in Monaco and Barcelona] so I’m hoping that translates to [future races]. I think we’ve taken note of where we are and where we’ve gone wrong, and now we’re slowly chipping away and trying to navigate our way back to the front. It’s just a long process, unfortunately.

"We now have the wider sidepods more in the direction of what the Red Bull is. I mean it’s not been my decision to go that way. It’s the input that we’ve been having as a team, both George and I, over the past year. If you look at the Red Bulls, the places where they get on the power earlier and the speed they can take through the corners is just because they have a much stronger rear end."

It would be fascinating to see if a similar concept can take Mercedes closer to Red Bull this season.