Lewis Hamilton left red-faced after broken promise as new F1 record was set

Lewis Hamilton has been left with an egg in his face after hitting F1 before for changes made to ensure more competition at all levels in the sport. Recent records may have shown that F1 was right to implement its changes, despite the Mercedes man's protests.

The FIA ​​introduced new rules for the 2022 season which were one of the biggest technical changes in the sport's history, with the focus on ground effect moving away from downforce on the body. This move was intended to reduce the amount of "dirty air" produced by the cars and shift the aerodynamic focus from the fenders to the underside of the car, but it did not come without some serious downsides.

Porpoising was introduced and became a big part of last season as many drivers were seen bouncing hard on the straights and it became a safety concern for the governing body - Hamilton himself could be seen struggling to get out of his car in Baku as he hobbled back to the paddock.

Mandatory floor changes for 2023 were made in an effort to curb porpoising, which was successful, but many changes from the previous year were also removed in the process. Questions had been raised as to whether further overruns would be made as a result of these revisions, including from Hamilton as he claimed promises had not been kept.

“I think last year for us was pretty bad with the rebound because you have the turbulence and the rebound,” Hamilton said at the Australian Grand Prix weekend. "While this year we don't have the rebound, so we have [fewer] issues after the cars. I think it's still a bit better than the previous generation of cars, but it didn't deliver everything she announced."

However, it looks like parity in the sport is really alive and the peloton is closer than ever - something F1 bosses wanted the rule changes to help achieve. This year is the first time that each team has scored at least one point after the first three rounds of the championship.

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In 2022, nine teams had at least one point after three races, with only Aston Martin failing to secure any points despite being one of the biggest success stories of 2023 so far.

At the Australian GP, ​​McLaren and AlphaTauri also scored their first points, dropping all manufacturers to zero after three races, also setting a new F1 record.

After finishing sixth last season amid a disappointing campaign for Hamilton and Mercedes, the Briton currently sits fourth behind the Red Bull pair of Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez, while he also trails Fernando Alonso and the Aston Martin team with Lance also stroll in sixth - potentially proving F1 was right to make the changes it did.

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