Allison has said he hasnt touched anything to do with the W14 since he came back and is only working on the W15, i thought he did since the new floor at COTA was said to be a trail run for the new concept so dont know how that works but yeaCHT wrote: ↑Tue Nov 28, 2023 4:49 amWas just watching the post-race interview last night. Comparing this year's Abu Dhabi post-race interview to 2022, the Merc drivers (especially LH) seem less optimistic as compared to last year when they won a race in Brazil. LH is also showing some signs of burnout after a very difficult and long season struggling with W14.
Since James Allison returned as Technical Director 7 months ago, the Merc has shown some signs of improvement but still struggling with the car setup and unpredictability. With Hamilton talking about Max's 17-second gap to 2nd, even when Max was barely pushing at the front that will put tremendous pressure on James Allsons his team over the winter to deliver a Brawn GP-like miracle with the W15
What is good for LH is shifting his focus on remaining in F1 for the Africa race which also means he may be hanging around for some more years to come as I don't think a race in Africa can be set up within a year or 2.
If 2024 doesn't turn out well, I think it will be closure for LH on the 8th WDC to start looking to become an ambassador for F1 instead.
and i think Lewis looking burnt out is a combination of him waiting to never have to drive the W14 again and the brutal schedule they had with the last two races, having to adjust to LV time, having to stay up until 4am and then going halfway across the world to a completely different timezone after just getting used to LV's timezone. the season was over, it was clear the car couldnt win a race, he had p3 in the driver's championship locked in and only had to worry about P2 for the team