Perhaps no driver on the Formula One grid will be happier to see the end of 2022 than Lewis Hamilton following the worst year of his career.
The seven-time champion himself will tell you that – and he already has – revealing his delight at never again having to drive the Mercedes W13 car that left him unable to battle for a championship for the first time in nine years.
‘I’m looking forward to the end of Tuesday [the post-season test in Abu Dhabi] which is the last time I have to drive this thing and I don’t ever plan to drive this one again,’ he said ahead of the final race of the campaign.
Lewis Hamilton endured his worst ever Formula One season after failing to win a race
The Brit revealed he hopes to never drive the underperforming Mercedes W13 ever again
‘It won’t be one of the cars I request to have in my contract!’
There has even been talks of Hamilton leaving Mercedes when his contract is up at the end of 2023 – although team boss Toto Wolff is confident he will stay.
A casual glance at his results over the year soon holds all the answers as to why he has such a disdain for the Mercedes car that appears to have given the Brit nothing but misery.
The big takeaway is the wins column that reads a big fat zero – marking the first time Hamilton has gone through an entire year without a grand prix victory since he burst onto the scene as a championship contender in 2007 with McLaren.
There are other interesting pointers too. He was also beaten by his team-mate for the first-time since 2016 when he he was pipped to the championship by Nico Rosberg.
The seven-time champion could only place sixth in the standings during the campaign
George Russell came into the Mercedes team for the 2022 season and did more than just pip Hamilton following his move from Williams – with 275 points he eclipsed the seven-time world champion by 35 points.
Russell also took a victory, winning the Sao Paulo Grand Prix in Brazil having fought off a late Hamilton charge near the end of the race at Interlagos in the penultimate round of the season.
Hamilton also failed to take any pole positions (again, Russell secured Mercedes’ only official pole in Hungary) and it summed up a season where he was expected to gain revenge from his bitter and highly controversial championship defeat by Max Verstappen in 2021 on his way to a record eighth world title.
In reality, it could hardly have panned out much worse and would have been the stuff of nightmares if he had envisioned it before the opening round of the campaign.
Mercedes team-mate George Russell came into the team and defeated Hamilton in 2022
Russell also took the team’s only win after pipping Hamilton to first place in Brazil
Observers outside of F1 may now think the Brit, who turns 38 in January, is now simply past his best. All the great champions have to exit at some point and Father Time waits for no-one – especially elite athletes as they progress through their 30s.
Yet, despite all of the above you would have to be a fool to write off Hamilton now.
There were times he was incredibly unfortunate – especially up against Russell – in a car that for most of the season was nowhere near the quality of the runaway Red Bulls and even at times Ferrari. Not even the racing driver of your choice in their prime could have stopped Verstappen bulldozing his way to a second utterly dominating championship.
Mercedes knew their season was in huge danger when their unique ‘no sidepods’ approach didn’t deliver the numbers on track that it did in simulation over the winter. This required in the early races more testing and risky set-ups during grand prix weekends to try and find answers. Much of the responsibility fell on Hamilton given his Mercedes knowledge and experience. His early results showed there were no easy or quick answers.
Hamilton’s lowest moment came at Imola where he finished 13th and was stuck behind Pierre Gasly (above) for most of the race before being lapped by fierce rival Max Verstappen
The first five races in particular were a challenge – and his finish outside of the points in 13th at Imola having been lapped by Max Verstappen was arguably the low point.
Yet by Spain, he was finding his groove. Had he not had a first-lap incident at the start to put him at the back of the pack he could have won, storming up the field to finish a highly respectable fifth having been on pace with the lead cars.
By the time of the Canadian Grand Prix, he and Mercedes had found improvements to take the team closer to Red Bull and even eclipsing early season pace setters Ferrari.
From Montreal, Hamilton recorded five successive podiums including two second-place finishes behind Verstappen. In Britain during this run he was also in the hunt for a race win only for Mercedes strategy and safety cars to ultimately go against him at Silverstone. The thrilling race at his home circuit also provided evidence of his strong racecraft, making a memorable pass to overtake Charles Leclerc and Sergio Perez in one corner as the duo squabbled for position.
But he looked back to his best by the British Grand Prix, overtaking Sergio Perez (centre) and Charles Leclerc (right) in one corner to the huge joy of the locals and his supporters
Hamilton ended up third at Silverstone but with a bit more luck easily had the pace to win
In Holland, he was unlucky with a poor strategy choice under a safety car when beforehand he was in a straight fight with Verstappen for victory. Russell gained the upper hand in this race because of this, and while you can still pin the veteran’s downfall at Zandvoort due to his own decision making – you couldn’t ignore his outright pace on the day.
He was strong again in USA and Mexico where back-to-back second place once more came behind Verstappen, while a controversial collision with the Dutchman at Interlagos arguably cost him the win Russell took ahead of him in Brazil.
Unfortunate grid penalties relating to car failures also played a part in Hamilton’s sixth place in the final standings but anyone watching him race over the season can clearly see he still showed he has the pace to fight with the best.
The Brit could have also earned a win in Brazil before a collision with Verstappen
The pair retain a frosty relationship and Hamilton still managed to put his rival under pressure at many races over the course of the season despite the Dutchman’s dominance
So can we expect that to drop off over the winter as he edges closer to 40? It’s hard to tell. Michael Schumacher was well past it when he returned at that age. Former world champion Kimi Raikkonen turned into a slightly above average racer at a similar point – so there past signs from previous champions that it’s not looking great for Hamilton.
Except one of his oldest rivals may also provide motivation to keep battling.
Fernando Alonso will be 42 next year and like Hamilton was also beaten by a younger team-mate in Esteban Ocon while driving for Alpine this term.
But the two-time world champion, who famously battled fiercely with Hamilton at McLaren in 2007, was notable for largely outperforming the Frenchman and only notorious bad luck in regards to his car’s horrendous reliability prevented him from finishing higher up than his ninth place to be best of the rest outside of Red Bull, Ferrari and Mercedes.
Michael Schumacher (left) and Kimi Raikkonen struggled to produce their best in their 40s
But Fernando Alonso’s strong 2022 pace even at 41 prove Hamilton can still compete for titles
Many inside F1 have been able to oversee the Spaniard’s rotten luck this term and recognised that he largely outperformed Ocon (and mainly his car) to look as good as he has ever done. You won’t find many who don’t at least rank him as still one of the best five drivers in F1.
Hamilton appears to be cut from the same cloth. Even given his race results, when head-to-head with Russell he was still slightly quicker over the season, even if his British compatriot perhaps made some wiser race calls, which he should be given due credit for at 24. There is certainly world champion potential in the King’s Lynn ace.
The bottom line is Hamilton is still the same rice driver as he was when he nearly won a record eighth championship title in the Abu Dhabi desert in 2021.
Providing Mercedes give him a race car able to compete regularly at the front for 2022, and that is a strong possibility, title No 8 could still very much be his to take in the 2023 season.
Hamilton still has the ability that won him a seventh title in 2020 and aims to prove it in 2023
