Hamilton: W13's issues like 'a ghost that kept coming back'

Lewis Hamilton says the chronic aero troubles encountered by Mercedes in the first half of the season felt like a "ghost was in the car", and it kept coming back.

Mercedes was on the back foot from the outset of its 2022 campaign, caught out by the unexpected whims and quirks of its new-generation car.

As the Brackley's squad's engineers dug in to understand the vagaries of their bouncing bronco, glimpses of progress were followed by confusing setbacks, leaving the team and especially its drivers going nowhere fast.

But eventually, a glimmer of light appeared at the end of Mercedes' seemingly endless tunnel.

"I always knew that we could do it," recalled Hamilton in a Q&A on the Mercedes website. "I never doubted that we would get there in the end, but there was lots of trial and error, and so much failure this year.

"There were times we brought upgrades and they didn't work, and times we tried different things and it didn't work.

"I tried so many things and failed so many times but through that you learn and grow.

"That's what it's been about this year. It's been about failure, breaking down egos, strengthening our relationships, and strengthening our communications. From that perspective it's been really empowering."

• Read also: Hamilton appreciative of smaller F1 teams' efforts after Mercedes struggles

Asked about when Mercedes felt that tangible progress was being achieved with its recalcitrant silver arrow, Hamilton said that moving forward was a wayward affair.

"The first big step was Barcelona, that was our first hint of there being more potential in the car," Hamilton said.

"It turned out to be a bit of a false positive; the car was good there but then the races afterwards were difficult. It was like a ghost was in the car and it kept coming back.

"But then there was France and that felt like a good step with our first double podium of the season. And then there was Austin, too, with the update we had working well."

Taking stock recently of Mercedes' challenging season, team boss Toto Wolff attempted to put a positive spin on his outfit's hardship, saying that "you have to fail and get it wrong to prosper" and that this year's learnings would pay dividends in the future.

Hamilton agreed with the Austrian, and added that the adversity faced by Mercedes this year had transformed the team's sense of gratitude.

"If you look back at the team's entire history, it was here a long time, before Toto and I joined, and they had some really difficult years," said the Briton.

"Some of the people have been here for over 20 years and really been through the thick of it. I would say for our current team, in terms of the last 10 years, this has been the toughest year for everyone along with the most strengthening.

"There has been so much resistance, so much we have been up against, and I am thankful that we have.

"There are many people working here, along with many new people in the team, and this experience has been good for them too.

"When we win, there is a different gratitude now because it happened so often before."

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