The idea that Mercedes’ engineers could copy the model of their Aston Martin rivals has been rubbished, after Lewis Hamilton made strong complaints at last week’s Bahrain Grand Prix. It was a tricky start for Mercedes in Bahrain, as their struggles from last season continued into 2023.
Once again it was Red Bull star Max Verstappen who prevailed, whilst his former title rival Hamilton could only settle for a fifth place finish, 50 seconds behind the Dutchman. Following his finish, the seven-time world champion was less than impressed with his new car.
The problems within the Silver Arrows seemingly lies at the top, with Hamilton taking aim at the powers that be for not listening to his insight into their new car during the off-season. He told the BBC’s Chequered Flag podcast: “Last year, there were things I told them. I said the issues that are with the car. I’ve driven so many cars in my life.
“I know what a car needs. I know what a car doesn’t need.“I think it’s really about accountability. It’s about owning up and saying, ‘Yeah, you know what? We didn’t listen to you. It’s not where it needs to be and we’ve got to work’. We’ve got to look into the balance through the corners, look at all the weak points and just huddle up as a team. That’s what we do.
“We’re still [multiple] world champions, you know? Just haven’t got it right this time. Didn’t get it right last year. But that doesn’t mean we can’t get it right moving forwards.”
Amid their troubles in Bahrain, there had been calls for Mercedes to copy the design of Aston Martin, with the two teams sharing the same engine.
This idea has been played down by F1 technical analyst Craig Scarborough though. Asked by fellow F1 journalist Peter Windsor if adopting part of the Aston Martin design would work for the Silver Arrows, he said: “I think the answer to that is no, I don’t think there is.
“People will point at the side pods and the gulleys as maybe the secret to that car’s performance, which is really kind of ignoring everything that’s going on underneath the car and the way they’ve got the suspension set up.
“So no, there isn’t anything anyone else can really copy quickly to find some performance. In talking about this online, so many people are now saying, ‘well, Mercedes just need to copy Aston Martin, because it’s got the same engine, the same gearbox, the same rear suspension, and aspects of the hubs of the brakes are similar.
“Why don’t they make a car that looks like that?’ With these things it’s never quite that easy and, equally, I don’t think that’s the way that Mercedes will go about engineering the car.”
For all the latest Sports News Click Here
For the latest news and updates, follow us on Google News.
