The 2024 F1 season is due to begin shortly and in what would be a rarity, Lewis Hamilton is not expected to be in title contention.
The driver has been a constant feature at the front of the grid throughout his career ever since he debuted in 2007. However, ever since the 2021 season where he ended up relinquishing the title to Max Verstappen, the driver has not even won a race.
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The new regulations have not been kind to Mercedes, the German team has found it hard to adapt and has not had the car to fight for the title. It has been all Red Bull and Max Verstappen at the front and it would take a special effort for anyone to break that stranglehold.
The 2024 F1 season will be the third term with these regulations. What if we told you that there is a possibility that Lewis Hamilton could be a title contender this season? Let’s take a look.
#1 Mercedes will switch to the Red Bull concept
The 2023 F1 season had one interesting observation. Two teams made a visible move to the Red Bull concept and both of them made a jump closer to the front of the grid.
Aston Martin was the first team to show the efficacy of moving to the concept and got eight podiums last season. In the second half, we had McLaren taking over as it did something similar.
Mercedes was second in the championship but still did not make the switch to the Red Bull concept. The team is expected to do so this season and that can help the German outfit make a jump in performance.
Will that be enough to overtake Red Bull? Probably not. But could it be enough to close the gap significantly? Well, it might and that could make things interesting.
#2 There’s an increased focus on its operational weakness
Mercedes has not been the best in terms of operational efficiency. That was an area that the team admitted it hadn’t stressed on as much when it was dominating.
Toto Wolff revealed in his latest media appearance that this was something Mercedes had been working on and there were significant gains to be made in this area.
#3 Lewis Hamilton’s performances haven’t dropped off
Arguably something that often does not get the credit it deserves is that Lewis Hamilton continues to perform at a very impressive level even at 39 years of age. He has achieved more than any other driver in the history of the sport.
In terms of performance, Lewis Hamilton is right up there with the best in F1 and all he needs is the right car to get back to winning.
#4 The diminishing returns could play a role
That is something both Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton will be hoping for because that would allow the opposition to catch up.
#5 Lewis had the edge over George in 2023
Another thing that stood out for Lewis Hamilton in 2023 was the fact that he still had the edge over the young charger in George Russell. The two teammates were very close in performance overall but Lewis made the least mistakes and had the edge over his teammate.
For the 2024 F1 season, this will hold him in good stead as he tries to set his sights on title number eight.
