Lewis Hamilton finished third in the F1 drivers’ championship but Mercedes endured their first winless season for 12 years as Max Verstappen and Red Bull ran riot
Lewis Hamilton promised fans an “exhilarating” Mercedes fightback next season after enduring another frustrating Formula 1 campaign.
For the second year in a row, Hamilton went without a single F1 race victory. In fact, Carlos Sainz was the only man who stopped Red Bull from winning a race in 2023 when he took victory at the Singapore Grand Prix.
Other than that, it was a clean sweep for the Milton Keynes-based team. And Max Verstappen led the charge with a record-breaking romp to the title which saw the Dutchman score more points than Hamilton and team-mate George Russell put together.
The task facing Mercedes is of a mammoth scale. Making enough development progress over the winter to be able to go toe-to-toe with Red Bull in 2024 looks unlikely.
But Hamilton made it clear to his fans that he is up for the challenge. In a social media post the day after he finished just ninth in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the 38-year-old shared his belief that Mercedes will soon challenge again.
He wrote: “Another one done. Good to take P2 in the constructors, but ultimately not the year we wanted. Still, big shout to the team for always pushing. Big thank you to the fans as well. The support this season has made such a difference, and I wouldn’t have made it to this day without it.
“As for the future, myself and the team know we’ll be back on top, and we know there’s a lot of work to be done to make that happen. I promise you, getting there will be exhilarating, and seasons like this will make it all the more satisfying when we do. ‘Til next year.”
Obviously, Hamilton was in a more certa in outlook when he composed that message than he was only 24 hours sooner. Following a disappointing end of the week at the Yas Marina Circuit, the seven-time title holder pointed at the reality Red Bull have an early advantage on their 2024 vehicle improvement as a sign another intense a year might lie ahead.
“Red Bull won by 17 seconds [in Abu Dhabi] and have not contacted the vehicle since August, so you can basically think about where they will be one year from now… I was simply delayed all through the race,” he gloomily told columnists.
[Red Bull] haven’t even fostered their vehicle since August – it’s most certainly a worry. However, we’ve gained some significant experience about the vehicle and it’s simply down to the group now and they understand what they need to do. Whether we’ll arrive, we’ll see.”