At the event, Lewis Hamilton described Mercedes’ early season struggles with their W13 car as “dead” in the car.
in short
Mercedes’ season struggles “like there’s a spirit in the car” – Hamilton
Hamilton described Mercedes’ early season struggle to climb aboard their W13 car as “dead” in the car.
Mercedes started the year off the pace of rivals Red Bull and Ferrari, but appeared to fall back at the Spanish Grand Prix in May. However, the team would continue to struggle to win the title until a one-two with Jorge Russell in Brazil, their only win of the season.
“The first big step was Barcelona, that was our first hint that there was more potential in the car,” said Hamilton. “It turned out to be a bit of a false positive; the car was good there but the races after that were difficult. It was like there was spirit in the car and it kept coming back.
“It’s been a tough year for everyone. For me, it was challenging in an unexpected way, but I’m incredibly grateful for that. This year I felt more growth in terms of inner strength as a person than in many years.
Seidl’s hire shows Audi is serious – Sainz Snr
Audi Dakar Rally boss Carlos Sainz Snr says Andreas Siedl’s move to Sauber “shows how serious” the manufacturer is about succeeding in F1. Seidel has been announced as the new CEO of Sauber, whose team is currently named after Alfa Romeo and will become the Audi Works Group in 2026.
“Seidel is a guarantee of hard work and success, he won with Porsche in Le Mans, he brought McLaren into shape,” Sainz told Speed Week. “Seidel has a very good network in the team, he brings a lot of experience to his new job, he speaks German, everything fits together. His signing did not surprise me and made sense.”
Edgar MP joins for 2023 FIA F3 season, Van Amerfurt signs Smith
Red Bull junior driver Jonny Edgar will compete in next season’s FIA Formula 3 Championship with MP Motorsport, the team has announced.
Edgar will compete in the third season of the premier F3 series in 2023 after two campaigns with Carlin and Trident. Edgar missed several rounds of this year’s championship due to health issues, but still finished 12th in the championship.
Van Amerfurt has signed GB3 driver Tommy Smith to compete with them in the 2023 championship. Smith finished 19th in the GB3 standings in 2022 and won the single race at Spa-Francorchamps.
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Links
Motor Racing Links of Interest:
The best of McLaren Unboxed 2022 (McLaren).
“With a new year on the horizon, we got to take a look at some of the best behind-the-scenes moments of the 2022 season.”
Extract from IndyCar 2022 (Racing) statistics
“Passing skyrocketed last season. In 2021, 3526 passes were recorded. This number rose to 5881 in 2022, a significant year-over-year increase (67%) and the highest pass rate since IndyCar introduced the UAK18 aero kit in 2018.”
Felipe Dragovic’s title-winning season in his own words (Formula 2)
“Then there was also all the talk about Formula 1. I had to use that as motivation because, all this time, not many people are looking at me, I was trying to bring it to F1. People are already looking. I feel good about Aston Martin and about it, but in the last part of the season in F2 Rounds I had to use it as motivation.
Guenther on Maserati MSG Racing Life, and Valencia Speed (Formula E)
“The whole team is fantastic, very professional. Everyone has the same mindset and the same approach – we all just want to perform. It’s great to have this and I can’t wait to see what the future holds.”
Formula E CEO Says Producers Will Leave for ‘Introduction’ (Jalopnic)
“We’re young. We don’t have hundreds of years of history, so we can make those bold changes. We’ve got to take the time to lay a new foundation. We’ve got to force everybody to raise their game. And for me, that’s what it’s going to be fun to watch this year.”
Funny studio effects of 2022 F1 drivers and team directors! (F1 on YouTube)
“It’s always a laugh with this lot! Enjoy studio outings with our 2023 grid and their team of principals!”
W14 First Words: Burning Our 2023 Mercedes-AMG F1 Car! (Mercedes on YouTube)
“2023 starts here!”
Pierre Gasly and Yuki Shunoda’s Italian Christmas! (AlphaTauri via YouTube)
“Don’t worry, but it’s the last video of Pierre Gasly and Yuki Tsunoda together! So we challenge them all in the spirit of Italian Christmas, and let their competitiveness rise one last time!”
My season in pictures: Kevin Magnussen (Haas via YouTube)
“After his shock return to the team in March, Kevin looks back on some of the most memorable moments of his F1 career, from fifth place in the return race in Bahrain, to his first pole position in Brazil.”
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