Lewis Hamilton has finally said goodbye to his Mercedes F1 2022 F1 “W13” machine. Mercedes F1 and Aston Martin held two days of Pirelli tire testing at the Jerez circuit in Spain. Following Tuesday’s team-mates test on day one, Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso conducted the second day of testing.
The test will be Lewis Hamilton’s last at the wheel of the Mercedes W13. The W13 is statistically the worst car in Hamilton’s F1 career, failing to score a single win or pole position in 2022. After last year’s season, Lewis Hamilton said he was looking forward to never having to drive a troubled Mercedes W13 again after the Abu Dhabi F1 test. “I’m looking forward to the end of Tuesday as this will be the last time I drive this car and I will never drive it again. It won’t be one of the cars requested in the contract!” and Lewis Hamilton excluded from future car gifts. But last week at the Pirelli tire test at Paul Ricard, Lewis Hamilton was reunited with Mercedes F1’s troubled W13. Meanwhile, behind closed doors, Fernando Alonso, who moved from Alpine, gained more seat time ahead of the new season with his new team, Aston Martin. Fernando Alonso made his Aston Martin debut at the post-season test in Abu Dhabi last November and took the wheel of the AMR22. Pre-season testing for 2023 will take place at the Bahrain International Circuit from 23-25 February, a week before the season opener.
