Lewis Hamilton has denied that Mercedes requires a technical overhaul similar to the one McLaren is currently undergoing.
After openly missing the development targets it set over the winter with its MCL60 car, McLaren has endured a strenuous opening to the 2023 season.
The British team’s struggles led it to announce a revamp of its technical department, including the exit of James Key as technical director and the forming of a new structure at its Woking base.
While slightly better than last year, Mercedes has also sustained a tough start to 2023, with team boss Toto Wolff admitting that a change to its car concept is necessary for it to fight for titles again.
However, Hamilton has dismissed that Mercedes is in a similar position to his ex-team, for whom he made his F1 debut and secured his first F1 title in 2008.
“Well you can’t compare us to McLaren, we’ve won eight world titles in the last ten years, he argued.
“McLaren is like an old home for me, it’s old family so I’m always looking to see where they are and hoping they figure things out and become the team they once were, the team I know them as being in my earlier days and before then, so I hope whatever restructuring they’re doing is good.
“We’re still a World Championship-winning team, we’ve got amazing people who have been with us on that journey. We always need to hold ourselves accountable, each and every single one of us.
“We all need to look at how we go about things and how we do it better.
“There’s not a single person in the team that thinks they have done everything right and that they couldn’t do things better, and everyone’s just focused on correcting that and learning moving forwards collectively, and improving our communication and improving how we process things.
“That’s a huge thing for me, because if you’ve got a group of people who are just super stuck in their ways and don’t change then you will just stay in that area of being non-competitive.
“But these men and women are very open-minded, that’s inspiring for me to see the courage that they have, and I know that we will get there.”
Following the cancellation of the Chinese Grand Prix for the fourth consecutive year, F1 is encountering a four-week break before the next round in Azerbaijan.
The early-season interval will provide all the teams with the opportunity to bolster the competitiveness of their cars with upgrades.
Although Hamilton is grateful for the opportunity for Mercedes to improve its troubled W14, the Brit admits he would prefer to be racing frequently.
“Honestly I don’t think I need a mental break at the moment, I feel pretty good,” he said. “Particularly as our August is usually that time where you get that downtime.
“So I think it’s good for the team to settle down and focus and churn away during that time, focus on bringing upgrades and fixing the car.
“I wish we were racing personally in that gap, but I’ll try and make the best use of it.”
