The “misplaced” Mercedes “discovered its north star” with a long-awaited replace

Lewis Hamilton believes Mercedes is finally on the right track with a major upgrade for this weekend’s Monaco Grand Prix.

Changes to the team’s car were due to be made at the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix a week ago, before the event was canceled due to flooding. This meant the team had to wait until Monaco this weekend to make its debut.

Hamilton said the team is keen to assess the changes but is concerned that the extreme and unusual nature of the Monaco circuit means they will not be able to fully assess its impact.

“With the improvements, it will be hard to see how it works on this type of track,” said Hamilton. “But hopefully it will bring us a little bit closer to (forward).

“I don’t think we’re going to fight for the win, necessarily, but I hope it’s more than a fight.”

The update marks a significant change in the direction of the team’s development. Mercedes has been working to create a competitive design in line with the technical regulations that were introduced at the beginning of last season. During that time, he won only one race, and his streak of eight consecutive world championship victories came to an end.

Hamilton said the team is confident it has finally found the right path of development, ditching the signature “zero sidepod” concept.

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“Last year we were a bit lost in solving a problem we had,” he said. “I feel like the team now has the North Star, they know exactly where they need to go and we’re working on how to get there.

“The amount of work put in is amazing and I am very, very grateful for that hard work. I was so excited to get in the car and feel these changes and hopefully that puts us on the right track now to move forward and try to catch up with the guys up front. “

He said he was delighted with how Mercedes had come together as a team despite a drop in performance over the last 18 months.

“As the sport grows, more and more people join the team. There are a lot of people in the team who have had all the successes we’ve had in the past, and there are a lot of people who haven’t had that success yet and are very hungry. I’m really encouraged when I go back to the factory and see how hard everyone is working.”

Pictures: Mercedes Monaco Grand Prix updates

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Monaco Grand Prix 2023

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