2022 was a season to forget for Lewis Hamilton. After losing the chase to claim his 8th title in the final race of the season, Hamilton aimed at making a comeback. But the Brit was left far behind by the likes of Red Bull and Ferrari.
Lewis failed to register a win in a season, the first time in his career. He finished P6, his lowest finish ever in the driver’s standings. he was also beaten by teammate George Russell who claimed the team’s only win in Brazil.
Lewis and Mercedes were the most dominant driver-team combination in the history of the sport. Since he joined the team in 2013, they have enjoyed unparallel success securing 6 Drivers titles and 8 consecutive Constructors titles.
In 2022, Max Verstappen fell 10 points short of beating Sebastian Vettel’s record for biggest ever winning margin in a title fight 👀
Max scored 82.88% of all available points this year compared to 83.57% for Seb in ’13 & 84.7% for Michael Schumacher in ’02 📊#F1 #Autosport pic.twitter.com/qtZV2SlG4s
— Autosport (@autosport) November 26, 2022
But with the rise of Max Verstappen and Red Bull, Mercedes’ glory days might be coming to an end. But Toto Wolff is confident that he won’t let it happen under his watch.
Also Read: Red Bull chief believes ‘with a driver like Lewis Hamilton’ Mercedes will return stronger in 2023
Toto Wolff is confident that Lewis Hamilton will be back in 2023
Toto Wolff believes like Lewis Hamilton, every driver-team pair enjoyed a period of dominance in F1. Like Michael Schumacher and Ferrari who won 5 straight titles from 2000 to 2004. Or Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull who won 4 titles from 2010 to 2013.
Wolff believes in studying the errors that broke their streaks could be key to bouncing back. And the Austrian believes it is necessary for Mercedes if they want to push for wins in 2023.
Wolff said, “You can see with Ferrari, they lost the whole top leadership and a key driver. I think that’s something you can trace back.”
Schumacher along with the likes of Ross Brawn, and Jean Todt left the team. Since then Ferrari has failed to return to the likes of their early 2000s form.
Lewis Hamilton has broken Michael Schumacher’s record for most consecutive seasons where the driver has led a lap of a Grand Prix (16) 🐐 pic.twitter.com/NyFPKpJLPX
— ESPN F1 (@ESPNF1) July 6, 2022
Wolff adds, “With Red Bull, it was a fundamental situation that the power unit regulation changed upside down. So fundamental parameters changed.”
Wolff is adamant that he would not let Hamilton face a lowly exit like Schumacher had when he left the sport in 2006. And with Hamilton committed to Mercedes until the very end of his racing career, the team must deliver on letting him claim the record-breaking 8th Championship title
2022 was a lesson learnt for Lewis and Mercedes
The low’s of 2022 taught Lewis Hamilton and Toto Wolff that the tables could turn very easily in Formula 1. And in a sport of very tight margins, this could be the difference between winning the title or not.
Wolff stated it was an important lesson for the team and they must now avoid making the mistakes “next season. He said, “We have the same organisation, the same capability, the same funding. The other pillars are still in place.”
But this doesn’t worry the Mercedes team Principal. He added, “We are 100 per cent sure that this was a year that was necessary for us to re-energise and re-motivate the team. This season brought us down to the ground, made us appreciate how you win and also understand how difficult it is to recover.”
