Lewis Hamilton says he is often in the Mercedes factory rallying the troops after staff were left ‘demoralised’ following the 2023 season. Hamilton and the Silver Arrows suffered a tough campaign last time out, with neither the seven-time world champion nor George Russell able to properly challenge Max Verstappen and Red Bull.
Mercedes’ inconsistency left Hamilton and Russell frustrated throughout last year. The team have been unable to match Red Bull since fresh aerodynamics regulations were introduced at the start of 2022.
Hamilton has spent the off-season boosting the morale of those inside the Mercedes factory as they work on the W15. The Briton has pointed out that the team now have something to work towards after the absence of a ‘north star’ over the last two years.
“I’m in the factory much more often now, have meetings with all the department heads and try to motivate and encourage them all,” Hamilton, who remains in pursuit of a record eighth world championship, said.
“As you can imagine, everyone is disappointed and demoralised after this season. So I talk to them, show them where we need to improve and what direction we need to go in.
“I just try to help them be positive and to say we can do it. I also looked closely at the other vehicles and asked a lot of questions, just to stimulate ideas.
“Ultimately, I have to let them do their job. At the beginning of the season we didn’t have a north star to guide our development. We kind of ran in zig-zags to find out in which direction the journey should go.
“Every now and then we came across something positive and thought: ‘That’s it!’ But then it quickly goes in the other direction, which is normal. The objective always changes.”
Hamilton finished third in the drivers’ championship last season, coming behind Verstappen and his Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez. Russell, who finished a lowly eighth, said it was his “toughest” season in Formula One.
Mercedes surprisingly parted ways with chief technical officer Mike Elliott in October. Elliott had been a mainstay with the British-based team, spending 11 years at their headquarters in Brackley.
Neither Hamilton nor Russell blamed Mercedes’ struggles on Elliott, but the change was deemed necessary by team bosses. At the time, Toto Wolff hinted that the 49-year-old needed a break from the stress of two tough seasons.
