Lewis Hamilton was hit by the worst F1 season of his career in 2022 as he finished the campaign without a single win with Mercedes’ problem child – W13.
After a heartbreaking end to the 2021 season, Hamilton had hoped to battle for his record 8th title in the sport but that could not be achieved as the Mercedes lacked performance.
Given the situation, Hamilton chose to take up the experimental setups to collect data and improved the performance. In doing so, the 37-year-old sometimes sacrificed speed.
His teammate George Russell too tried out different setups in an effort to help the team get back to the top. As the season neared its end, the Mercedes did make a bit of improvement in the performance as Russell won the Brazil GP with Hamilton following him into P2.
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Lewis Hamilton is a ‘senior figure’ like Michael Schumacher
Team principal Toto Wolff lauded Hamilton’s management of the situation speaking at the Beyond the Grid podcast. Wolff revealed how the Briton motivated the team around him drawing parallels with Michael Schumacher.
Hamilton had an underperforming car in W13 in the 2022 season and undoubtedly it was an extremely tough year for the champion.
But Wolff revealed that it was admirable how the 37-year-old lifted up the team spirit with his professional sportsmanship.
Having spent 10 years with the team, Wolff believes that Hamilton is now a senior figure in the team – a little bit like Schumacher used to be.
How Michal Schumacher helped Mercedes?
Michael Schumacher joined Mercedes in 2010 when he returned from retirement and helped the team in its early stages to reach the top tier of the sport.
Similar to the current circumstances, back in the early 2010s Mercedes had uncompetitive machinery and Schumacher played a vital role in his three seasons with the team using his knowledge of the cars and leadership character to improve the team.
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