Mercedes F1 News: Lewis Hamilton 'Welcomes' Miami GP Challenge

Lewis Hamilton is eager to test the new Mercedes upgrades under the demanding conditions of the Miami Grand Prix.

May 2, 2024; Miami Gardens, Florida, USA; Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton (44) during a press / John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports

Following the Chinese Grand Prix, Mercedes has brought a significant but minor upgrade to the W15 F1 car for the upcoming Miami Grand Prix. Speaking ahead of the event, Lewis Hamilton revealed his excitement for the upgrades as well as the challenges of the race weekend.

Mercedes has been struggling to find the performance needed in the current ground-effect era with its last race victory at the 2022 Brazilian Grand Prix when George Russell took the top spot on the podium. As the Brackley-based squad attempts to turn things around with the upgrades, they are faced with the difficulty that the Miami Grand Prix is hosting the second sprint race of the season, meaning there is only one Free Practice session. This, coupled with the high temperatures and tyre degradation, gives the team a bit of a challenge.

During the Drivers' Press Conference ahead of the Miami Grand Prix weekend, the seven-time F1 champion commented:

“The team have been working hard.

“We’ve got an upgrade here, a small upgrade here this weekend. So excited to see developments coming through."

Mercedes has been under scrutiny after a less dominant performance in recent seasons, and every upgrade is a step towards regaining their top form. He continued:

“And I think hopefully we’ll have a car in a bit of a better working window. So no doubt it will still be a challenge.

“But really excited to be here in the States. The weather is incredible. It’s going to be a challenge for temperatures and tyre deg and all that sort of stuff. But, yeah, we welcome it."

Mercedes' upgrades include changes to the floor body, cooling louvres, front wing, and front suspension. However, McLaren are bringing the most amount of upgrades to the race weekend with ten in total, 9 performance and 1 track specific. The Woking-based squad's upgrades include changes to the front wing, front suspension, front corner, floor body, sidepod inlet, engine cover, cooling louvres, rear suspension, rear corner, and beam wing.