F1 expert Ted Kravitz has expressed confusion around Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes complaint, with the Brit openly discussing his concerns about seat position this season. Amid claims that the position is effectively the same as it was in 2022, Kravitz believes that clarity on the issue will come out in due course.
It did not take long for Hamilton to lash out at his Mercedes team when it became clear that the gap to their rivals had not been closed. The seven-time world champion claimed that engineers ‘did not listen’ to his grievances during the off-season after Red Bull stormed to last year’s world title.
A key point raised by the 38-year-old will surely have focused on seat position which, he claims, is too far forward. “We sit closer to the front tyres than all the other drivers – our cockpit is too close to the front,” Hamilton explained earlier this month.
“When you’re driving, you feel like you’re sitting on the front wheels, which is one of the worst feelings when you’re driving a car. What that does is it changes the attitude of the car and how you perceive its movement, and it makes it harder to predict compared to when you’re sitting back, more in the centre and it’s just something I’ve really struggled with.”
The veteran’s criticism has sparked confusion among many as Mercedes’ seat position is supposedly just as far forward as it was last year. When asked whether Hamilton’s input needed to be considered more by his team, Kravitz told the Sky Sports F1 podcast: “I’m not sure because at the beginning of testing we had a special guest, [Mercedes engineer] Mike Elliott.
“I had all these ideas about the Mercedes and I put them to Mike. I asked if they had moved the cockpit forward and he said ‘no’. So I’m all a bit confused.
“I don’t know whether that’s something Lewis can go and say ‘see, I told you we were too forward’ and they said ‘well, you’re no more forward than you were before’. So that will come out in the fullness of time I’m sure.”
Hamilton is without a victory since the 2021 season, and despite his best efforts, Mercedes new boy George Russell pipped him in last year’s points standings. Team principal Toto Wolff has already responded to fierce criticism by pledging to scrap the skinny sidepod design that has seen the Silver Arrows slip behind Red Bull.
While Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez look set to fight it out among themselves for the top prize, Hamilton has at least made a solid start to the season, with 38 points on the board and a P2 in Australia last time out.
Former world champion Jenson Button recently fought Hamilton’s corner over the seat position issue, claiming that it does not give him the ‘confidence to push the car’ which leaves him unable to extract maximum performance.