Lewis Hamilton
was pure emotion this Wednesday during the presentation of the
Mercedes W15
with which he will run the 2024
Formula 1
season , the last of the legendary English driver before making the jump to
Ferrari
, in a pass that no one had in their calculations and that shook to the highest category of world motorsport.
The seven-time champion of the category, 39 years old, announced two weeks ago that at the end of this next season he will leave the brand with which he won six titles (between 2013 and 2023) to race from 2025 with the
Scuderia
.
In his first public appearance after the resounding announcement of his signing for the legendary Italian brand, Hamilton admitted that "these last two weeks have been very emotional and it is surreal to be here."
But he reiterated that this next season he will only think about Mercedes
: "The objective of all training is to return the team to where it should be," after in the last three world championships it was surpassed by Red Bull at the hands of an intractable Max Verstappen.
"The team has had a couple of difficult years, but that helped us a lot to come together and look at things head-on," he added.
Mercedes boss
Toto Wolff
, who appeared alongside Hamilton, added: "It's been a very busy (northern hemisphere) winter. It will be the last season with Lewis, so we are interested in having a fast car."
The presentation of the new Mercedes barely lasted nine minutes and Hamilton limited himself to answering three questions from the moderator.
"I arrived in 2013 so I have been in the team for eleven years and I am going to start my twelfth season. It is a privilege to work with this group of people who have worked all winter, so seeing the new car now is one of the moments most exciting of the season," he highlighted.
Hamilton, who has not won a race in the last two years, and his compatriot George Russell tested the new Mercedes for the first time this Wednesday, in the rain, at the Silverstone circuit.
The official pre-season tests will be held from February 21 to 23 in Bahrain, before the start of the championship on March 2 in the same country.
The new Mercedes W15
The Mercedes W15 recovers the color of the silver arrows on the front and in the cockpit that "is combined with the aqua green color", while the rest of the car will remain black "for weight saving reasons ".
"It is not just an aerodynamic change, but many mechanical changes to make a car faster and more predictable for the drivers. We will see in Bahrain if we have achieved it," said Wolff.
The new Silver Arrow.
Photo: EFE
The Austrian admitted that they have "a mountain to climb to fight on the front" and added: "There are no miracles in this sport, but our ambition and determination are strong. Since this new course was charted, development has progressed well "We had several items on our priority list for this car. We will soon see if we have taken the step we were looking for."
Mercedes wants to achieve titles in F1 again after two "discreet" years and with only one victory, that of George Russell in Brazil 2022, a situation that "led to a complete turnaround" in terms of the construction of a new car.
Source: agencies