Lewis Hamilton is surrounded by youngsters on the grid and reflects on his abilities to fight for an eighth title in the F1.
Lewis Hamilton came close to winning his record eighth title in the 2021 championship. The Briton’s heartbreaking loss raised a lot of speculations about his return to the sport.
Now that the 37-year-old is surrounded by a lot of young drivers on the grid and his performance so far in the ‘struggling W13′ has led him to reflect on his abilities to fight for the championship.
Although, Hamilton is sure that winning an eighth title would not be the deciding factor in whether or not he retires at the end of his contract in 2023.
Going forward in the current season, the seven-time world champion has already declared that he is out of the title fight. He made the statement after his disappointing performance at the Imola GP.
Hamilton has only been able to bag 28 points from four races. He is seen struggling to even stand out in the top 10 with his W13. Mercedes’ team principal Toto Wolff even apologised to Hamilton for not being able to provide him with a better car.
Though both he and the team remain hopeful of returning to the front in time.
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Lewis Hamilton is enjoying the challenging W13
Despite below the mark performance from Mercedes, Hamilton is hopeful for a return to the top of the grid.
While Hamilton seems to be struggling in the new car, his teammate George Russell is way above him with 49 points. Russell is yet to finish out of the top 5.
Nevertheless, the Briton says he is enjoying the challenge of trying to return Mercedes to the front. The 37-year-old has already done that in the past when he joined the Brackley-based team in 2013, prior to their period of domination.
“I think we are all sent these challenges through our journeys and through our lives. This is one that I’m really enjoying,” Hamilton explained.
“I’m really enjoying spending more time with the team, [taking] deeper dives into engineering, into aero characteristics, development of the simulator and the simulation tools.
“I think it’s enabled me to become even more involved in the development, which is exciting,” he added.
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The 37-year-old is still young and plans to remain in the sport
Winning an eighth title is absolutely a big achievement for the Briton as the record would move him above Michael Schumacher on the all-time list.
But for the time being, it is not in the forefront of his mind. When asked if winning the record eighth title persuade him to consider walking away, Hamilton said, “That’s, firstly, a really tall order. And that’s not something that’s immediately at the forefront of my mind.”
He went on to add that he still feels fresh and young. Even though he is “around all these youngsters” in the paddock. “I don’t think that’s going to be the deciding factor of whether I continue. I plan to be here,” he concluded.
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