Hamilton jokes he needs a cushion for visibility in W13

Henry Valantine
Lewis Hamilton sat in the Mercedes W13. Barcelona February 2022.

Lewis Hamilton in the pit lane in Barcelona pre-season running. February 2022.

Driver visibility has been a topic of conversation around the launch of the new cars, and Lewis Hamilton joked he’ll get himself a cushion to sit higher up in his Mercedes.

Pirelli are bringing 18-inch wheels into the sport for 2022, with the larger tyres prompting several drivers to speak out on visibility potentially being an issue early on in the season, as it’s now more difficult to spot apexes and even other cars in wheel-to-wheel racing.

Hamilton said his view is “similar” to what came before the regulations changed, but joked that he’d take a special measure to see more from his cockpit.

“I’m probably sitting a little bit too low because I’m seeing a lot of sky at the moment,” he said to reporters, quoted by RaceFans. “But I’ll get a cushion or something to sit higher.”

McLaren driver Daniel Ricciardo also had the question of visibility put to him, and he admitted it’s “definitely a little more tricky” because “there’s just more in the way” of his view.

Even though helmet cam gave fans access to a driver’s eye view from the cockpit at certain points last season, Ricciardo explained that it’s almost impossible for people outside the car to get a full picture of what is going on in front of them.

He added that there’s not much drivers can see within the car anyway, but that will be decreased further this season, although he remains confident that it’s “something we’ll get used to”.

“It’s another thing with F1 – obviously, it’s a very unrelatable sport because no one can jump in the car and really experience what it’s like but even a lot of onboard cameras from the top.

 

“So you see so much more, so you might think you’re riding with the driver, but you’re not really getting like the driver’s point of view actually they did test a few cameras last year. But my point is you don’t see that much, period.

“This year, you see less again, but you also get used to it and you just find reference points and things like this. So it is something that gets easier over time.

“But [visibility] probably hasn’t been that great since the old days when they were sitting right at the front of the car and a lot higher.”

 

PlanetF1 Verdict

 

Hamilton jokes he needs a cushion to see out of his W13

Lewis Hamilton has joked he needs a cushion to see out of his Mercedes W13.