Lewis Hamilton went through what was arguably his most difficult year in F1 in 2022. His performances were not particularly inconsistent, but the Mercedes W13’s pace was not close to that of Ferrari or Red Bull for the majority of the year.
Hamilton spent most of the year struggling behind the drivers of the top two teams. Even his teammate George Russell defeated him in the Drivers’ Championship in his first year with the Silver Arrows. His retirement at the season finale in Abu Dhabi meant that Hamilton ended a season winless for the first time in his F1 career.
Throughout the course of the campaign, the 37-year-old often insisted on how much he disliked driving the W13. Ahead of the Abu Dhabi GP, he even admitted how happy he was about never having to drive it again. Team principal Toto Wolff, however, will keep this car on display at their factory in Brackley as a reminder that ‘not everything is easy in life.
Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes will be back with a bang in 2023
After the season finale, Hamilton said that he was glad about the season coming to an end. It was a long and boring season, especially because he wasn’t fighting for the Title after a long time in his career.
On that note, he also thanked his team for the amount of hard work they put in. The seven-time World Champion is sure that they will return with vengeance in 2023, and once again fight for all Championships.
“I’m pretty sure I speak for all of us when I say I’m glad the season has come to an end,” he said. “I want to thank my team for all the hard work this year. Through it all, we pushed on and learned so much that will get us back to the top next year. I have no doubt we’ll come back better. We’ll be back. I’ll be back.”
Lewis Hamilton ended the 2022s season in sixth place, six points behind Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz. The Brit had nine podium finishes to his name, but failed to register a win. That is something he would like to change the moment he takes to track in Bahrain next March.
