Lewis Hamilton has been left without adding a pole or a victory in a season for the first time in his career. Many fans ask if it is the worst season for the British in the Formula 1but the Mercedes driver has made it clear what his worst year has been so far.
“It probably was 2011”the Briton confessed to ‘Motorsport’, dismissing this season as the worst of his career.
That year he added 3 victories, but he was far from the fight for the titlefinishing in fifth position in the championship, while his partner at the time, Jenson Buttonwas runner-up with almost 50 more points in what was the season of the second title of the already retired Sebastian Vettel.
“Enter the ‘top 3’ of my worst seasons. But still, it has been much stronger in terms of work. There have been some positive things”, admitted the Mercedes driver. His end of the year in 2022 considerably improved the start, adding several podiums and staying close to a victory like in the United States Grand Prix, but his teammate George Russell has finished ahead in the championship, with a pole position (Hungary) and a victory (Brazil) in the ’63’ box.
This has meant that Hamilton is not “looking forward” to the start of 2023. The seven-time world champion has acknowledged that he prefers to “spend time with the family” after a bad 2022 season, the championship in which he has stayed the furthest from the title, with a sixth final position in what is the worst result of his career in the final standings.
Lewis Hamilton considers that it is not the worst year of his career, but in terms of statistics, he had always had a victory in all his years in Formula 1 and had never been so far behind in the final classification.
2023, the year to make up for it
The next season is not right now in the mind of the British, but yes Mercedes. The new Formula 1 regulations force the cars to be raised a little from the ground, something that will solve the ‘porpoising’ problems that the German team has suffered, but at the same time, raising that height makes them less competitive.
However, Mercedes’ progress since the beginning of the season is remarkable. They went from struggling to get into Q3 to regular podium finishers and sometimes the second fastest car ahead of Ferrari, as was proven in Mexico and Brazil.
“If you see the evolution with the fastest, especially in race pace, you can see that we have made great progress“, commented James Vowles, head of strategy of Mercedes, to ‘Motorsport’. “However, there is still a void and Abu Dhabi shows it. It must be recovered during the winter. I think we have a good process and we will be in front again next year“, he added.
From the point of view of the Germans, the 2023 season is faced with hope. Hamilton has in mind to disconnect, but his competitive gene will make him work harder. Mercedes is working and hopes to return to the top and this will put the weight of the results in the hands of the Briton, who after a bad season, will seek to meet again next year.
Red Bull’s “The Kardashian Show”
Mercedes and Hamilton have work ahead of them for 2023, but they look askance at the situation of their rivals, especially that of Red Bull. The Briton admitted feeling “entertained” with all the controversy that took place in the Austrian team between Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez.
The Dutchman, despite not having anything at stake, decided to ignore his team’s orders to let ‘Checo’ pass in Interlagos, who was playing for the runner-up with charles leclerca duel that the Mexican finally lost.
“To be honest, it felt a bit like the ‘Kardashian Show’ with Red Bull in Brazil. It was pretty funny., a lot of the stuff I heard over the next few days was very entertaining. I’m sure all of that will be on Netflix, it’s going to be great for the fans,” Hamilton acknowledged on ‘Channel 4’.
The situation of the energy drink team is not the best, despite the fact that all parties have affirmed that the whole matter is resolved. An internal rivalry in Red Bull is another of the variables that can benefit Hamilton so that his 2023 is his redemption.
