Lewis Hamilton calls for further FIA changes to bunch the field up in 2023

Jamie Woodhouse
Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, at the Italian Grand Prix. Monza, September 2022.

Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton at the Italian Grand Prix. Monza, September 2022.

Lewis Hamilton says the new regulations have so far failed in their aim to bunch up the pack, urging the FIA to keep trying in this mission.

Several steps have been introduced into Formula 1 over recent seasons in an effort to take away the feeling of predictability at times surrounding the results.

Among the biggest initiatives was the budget cap, coming into effect from 2021 to limit what each team could spend in a season, with the limit of $145m originally falling to $140m for 2022, with a drop of the same value scheduled for 2023.

There was also a sliding scale put into place on permitted wind tunnel time based on where teams finish in the Constructors’ standings, but the biggest change came when all-new Technical Regulations were rolled out for 2022, creating new-look challengers across the field.

 

 

The new cars were designed to offer less freedom to innovate, so as not to compromise the main aims of creating a tighter pack, competing in cars that were intended to make overtaking easier.

Sadly though, the 2022 campaign has proved to be a step backwards in terms of unpredictability, with Red Bull and Ferrari having accounted for all 17 grand prix wins so far this season.

But while Hamilton views 2022 as a failure for the FIA and Formula 1 in this regard, he hopes to see efforts continue to bring the field closer together for 2023.

Asked by Sky Sports F1 if he has optimism that the pack can tighten up, as this is what these rules were designed for, Hamilton replied: “Yeah, they’re supposed to do that, but it’s not achieved what it was supposed to achieve, so yeah, we failed in that.

“But when you fail once you try again and fail a second time and continue to try, so I hope more changes are made to try and bring all the teams closer and create better quality throughout the racing space.

“It’s my hope that we are all closer so we can have better racing and more overtaking. Red Bull have walked away with it this year. They have done a great job.”

Hamilton had previously voiced his disappointment for the fans with Max Verstappen set to win the World title with races to spare.

“I feel for the fans because that’s for everyone and even for us, last year, going right down to the wire, that was intense for everybody,” he said.

“So it’s never great when the season finishes early, even when I’ve experienced having it finish early, in places like Mexico. For you as the one individual it’s great, but for the actual sport is not spectacular.

“So I’m really grateful to have had it like 2008, right down to the last 17 seconds, and obviously last year pretty much the same thing. So yeah, let’s hope for the future that it’s a bit better.”

Read more: FIA vow budget cap breaches will be ‘dealt with’ as Red Bull rumours swirl

Lewis Hamilton

Related Articles