2022 has been a terrible season of F1 racing for Lewis Hamilton, especially if we take his past campaigns into consideration.
After losing out on the Title in heartbreaking fashion last year, many expected Hamilton to pick himself up and come back with vengeance. However, it’s been the exact opposite from what was expected of him.
Firstly, the Mercedes W13 is not as strong as it’s predecessors were. They’re struggling massively with porpoising issues and straight line speed, which has seem them fall down the pecking order. Ferrari and Red Bull have cars that are much faster.
Secondly, Hamilton is finding it difficult to adapt to the W13. This is surprising for many fans as his teammate George Russell seems to be faring well. The reason behind this remains unknown, but social media continues to question the seven-time World Champion’s recent performances.
Russell joined the team in 2022, and people thought he would be behind Hamilton in terms of results. The 23-year old however, has shown everyone just how consistent he really is. Russell is fourth in the Championship standings, 21 points ahead of Hamilton.
Also read: Mercedes could drop Lewis Hamilton in pecking order against his new teammate
Lewis Hamilton encountering a ‘podium drought’ in 2022
Hamilton standing on the podium after a Grand Prix became a regular sight for F1 fans all over. In the rare occasions where he did miss out on them, fans were shocked. The Mercedes ace finishing P2 or P3 was often seen as failure on his part, such were the high standards set.
The same cannot be said about the 2022 season. Hamilton did get a podium finish in Bahrain, but that was largely due to both Red Bull cars retiring towards the end of the race.
There’s a challenge and then there is driving the W13.
Please do LH right and give him the equipment he deserves
Please!
— F1FaNaTiC (@KJ16976372) April 26, 2022
After Bahrain, F1 traveled to Saudi Arabia, followed by Australia and Imola. In all these races, Hamilton’s best result came in Melbourne, where he got a P4 finish. His outings in Jeddah and Imola were woeful by his standards, as he collected a total of one point from these two races.
This is the first time since 2013 that Lewis Hamilton has gone three races without a podium finish. His incredible consistency over the last nine seasons and the Mercedes domination has come to an end. Is it just a slump, or are we beginning to see chinks in Sir Lewis’ armor?
