Motorsport

LEWIS HAMILTON’S Mercedes team have unveiled the car they hope will allow him to fight Max Verstappen.Since scrapping this year’s design after the first 60-minute practice session in Bahrain, Merc chiefs have shuffled their design team and come up with a whole new package.
Lewis Hamilton’s new car will hopefully be able to compete with Red BullCredit: PA
Mercedes have spent £1m on the upgrades
The radical changes have cost over £1million in parts alone – with the factory operating 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to get them ready in time.
Verstappen’s Red Bull team have dominated this season winning all five of the opening races.
Here, SunSport takes a look at the changes Mercedes have made in the hope of tackling the Dutchman.
1. Sidepods
The most obvious design change to Hamilton’s car. Perhaps almost smugly, Merc had thought they had come up with a revolutionary zero-side pod design in 2022.
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They were the only team to do it – and blindly stuck with it for 15 months. Finally, they realised they were chasing a lost cause and reintroduced the bulbous parts of bodywork.
The extra surface area will increase downforce and the new design meant the team had to redesign the car’s radiators that sit under the bodywork.
It does mean the car is now slightly heavier by around 500 grams but it means that the new Silver Arrow looks more like their rivals.
2. Front Suspension
The second big change is the top of the wishbone suspension has moved inward and upwards.
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The higher suspension has a number of benefits. Firstly, the improved airflow increases downforce but Merc also believe the change will improve the stability of the car under braking.
That will increase their drivers’ confidence when stamping late on the brake pedal that the car will not skip out of line.
A final benefit will result in the air running over the suspension into the sidepod and into the radiator to help with cooling.
3. A New Floor
In the past, F1 cars have relied on downforce, wind rushing over bodywork to press the car into the ground allowing the drivers to take corners quicker.
This new generation of cars work in a different way where the primary aerodynamic principle is to suck the car to the ground.
As a result, the front and rear wings are less intricate, but the underside of the car’s floor has become extremely crucial.
It means that Merc have redesigned the underside of the car to accommodate the wider bodywork, without causing the return of porpoising – the dreaded bouncing we saw last year.
4. Engine Cover
With the redesigned floor and sidepods, the team have also reshaped the engine cover.
This improves the downforce of air over the top of it, but also helps channel the air into the rear wing for more downforce.
5. Rear Wing
With the new volume of air passing over the car, the rear wing has been tweaked accordingly to take the increase.
Like the other, larger body panels, the larger surface area will help to create more downforce, ultimately allowing the cars to tackle corners faster.
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6. Rear Brakes
The final big change sees the redevelopment of the brakes. The cylindrical shape – known as a cake tin – has been redesigned to work with the new airflow directions.
The winglets channel air into the brake ducts to help with cooling them down and preserving brake wear. More

LEWIS HAMILTON’S former sporting director has denied claims that the Mercedes star is a “dirty” driver.The seven-time Formula One world champion is currently enduring a miserable campaign following last season’s disappointment.
Lewis Hamilton’s former chief has denied the Brit is a ‘dirty’ driverCredit: Getty
However, before those troubles, the 38-year-old was involved in regular battles and incidents with rival Max Verstappen.
Those reached a boiling point in 2021 before the Brit missed out on a record-breaking eighth in the heartbreaking Abu Dhabi 2021 finale.
Hamilton and his foe, who is currently topping this year’s championship, had a number of crashes as the likes of Silverstone, Monza and Saudi Arabia.
Both drivers did not hide their anger towards the other’s antics and with many labelling their actions “reckless” and “dirty”.
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 But Sam Michael, who has held senior positions with F1 constructors Williams and McLaren told the Beyond the Grid podcast: “Some people need the confidence to say that there’s some other reason why they didn’t perform.
“They want to process it so that they’re the best and I get that their ego and confidence requires them to say something else must have happened for me not to win that race or for me to do this or that.
“Having said that, I don’t think Lewis was like that from my experience of working with Lewis at McLaren.
“Because there’s a downside to being like that which is that you may not properly process your weaknesses and I’d have to say Lewis is very good at that.”
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Michael added: “I don’t think I’ve ever seen him do something that you think ‘that was dirty’.
“Even looking at the recent stuff with him and Max, he goes out of his way to not do stuff.
“So he [Verstappen] might do things where [he’s] putting the car into a position where it’s like ‘you do this and we crash.’ You don’t see Lewis do that to you.”
Hamilton will be hoping to bounce back from his disappointing start to this season at this weekend’s Monaco GP. More

LEWIS HAMILTON wants to have his new Mercedes deal tied up within the next few weeks to end wild speculation about his future.Hamilton says he has enlisted his management team to handle negotiations with Mercedes boss Toto Wolff after telling them his demands, believed to include wages of around £50million per season.
Lewis Hamilton has been linked with a shock move away from MercedesCredit: AFP
The 38-year-old, who has always maintained it is his intention to commit to a new deal, also says his decision will not be influenced by the team’s winless run.
He said: “When you are in contract negotiations there is always going to be speculation. And unless you hear it from me, that’s all it is.
“My team is working closely behind the scenes with Toto and we are almost at the point of having the contract ready.
“I’m having the team focused on that so I can just do my job. It’s a much better position than I used to be in before, because I used to do the negotiations on my own and it was very stressful. I don’t have to do that anymore.
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“I have a great team doing all the work. I say what I want and that is what we are working towards. Hopefully [it will be signed] in the coming weeks.”
After ruling out any advances from rival teams, Hamilton said Mercedes’ current predicament will not alter his feelings.
And he says there is renewed hope they will be able to turn their hopes around after bringing a whole host of new parts to improve performance at this week’s Monaco GP.
Hamilton, who walked into the paddock with gold “grillz” across his teeth, added: “No, it doesn’t have a bearing.
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“We are still a championship winning team, it’s just we’ve had the wrong car and made some decisions over the past few years that have not been ideal.
“We are working through that and all the energy is going towards the new upgrade this weekend.
“The team has worked incredibly hard to bring this upgrade and we already decided after Bahrain it was what we are going to do.
“I was a little bit gutted when the last race got cancelled because I was excited to try this new package, and while here is not the best platform track wise to really see those come to fruition, we will hopefully experience that more next week.”
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Hamilton is set to sign a new £50million deal with Mercedes and end speculationCredit: Getty
Meanwhile, Hamilton’s team-mate George Russell has confirmed he has swapped London for living in Monaco.
He said: “I’ve been here for over five or six months now really, really enjoying it to be honest. It exceeded my expectations.
“Being a kid from the country, growing up in a field and looking at grey skies and nothing other than a Labrador, to being here…
“It’s a great community – got some good friends, jumping in the sea every single day and training in the sunshine.
“It’s probably the happiest I’ve ever been in my life to be honest, so I am very glad to have moved here.” More

LEWIS HAMILTON is going for gold in this weekend’s Monaco GP – after sporting some new gnashers.The Mercedes ace arrived in the paddock and flashed photographers his new gold teeth.
Lewis Hamilton could be seen rocking the veneers in the paddockCredit: Alamy

But they are not permanent – with Hamilton later placing them in his pocket as he revealed they were just veneers.
However, he did claim he has thought about getting them done.
The 38-year-old is closing in on discussions over a new deal with Mercedes worth around £50million a year.
And he clearly upped the bling ahead of this week’s race in Monte Carlo.
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Hamilton in Monaco ahead of this weekend’s Grand PrixCredit: Splash
The Brit sits fourth in the drivers’ standings after five racesCredit: Splash
Hamilton, who has landed in trouble with the FIA for his nose piercings in the past, is likely to escape another ticking off as the rules do not account for dentistry.
Earlier this week, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff reaffirmed his desire to tie seven-time world champion down to a new long-term deal.
Hamilton, who sits fourth in the drivers’ standings, has insisted he will not retire until he secures a record-breaking eighth championship.
But he has been linked with a £40million move to Ferrari.
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In response, Wolff said: “These rumours come up every two years when we have to sign a new contract.
“But none of this is true. We discuss normally, without any time pressure.
“It’s just uncomfortable that two friends, two blood brothers who have been through thick and thin for ten years, suddenly have to discuss money.
“I’m firmly convinced that we’ll find each other, there’s not a millimetre of doubt for me.
“I can’t imagine anything else. If we give Lewis a competitive car, he will win for a long time. Look at Tom Brady and what he was still capable of in his 40s.” More