2022 F1 Season Not the First Time Lewis Hamilton Finds Himself in the Trenches, Does He Have What It Takes?

Every season is a championship season for the driver synonymous with F1, Lewis Hamilton. But this year, he came with a goal to mend a broken heart. Till now, it has resulted in just adding to the agony. After biting the dust at the Abu Dhabi GP 2021, the aim was to bounce back in his title quest; but unfortunately, Hamilton has only bounced in the cockpit of the W13.

Remarkably, at the start of the campaign, he said, “If you think that what you saw of me at the end of last year was my best, wait till you see this year.” Despite that motivation, the Brit finds himself face to face with the prospect of 2022 being the worst campaign of his career.

In his 16-year F1 career, it was the 2011 season when Hamilton previously dropped the ball. At the time, he raced for McLaren and chased the glory of a second world title. The script was pretty similar to the 2022 season, as that year instead of Max Verstappen, it was Sebastian Vettel, another Red Bull driver who the Brit aimed to overthrow from the F1 throne.

Even the season kicked off in a similar fashion, as at the inaugural race of 2011, he scored a podium finish, and matched it in 2022 as he secured P3 at the Bahrain GP. Although in the 2011 season he fell behind in the pecking order, he still secured 3 victories, which remains a hurdle for him in the present season.

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Former McLaren driver concluded a sub-optimal championship by apologizing to his team for the ‘mishaps’ throughout the season and insisted that there is light at the end of the tunnel.

Is Lewis Hamilton on track to his worst F1 season?

After wearing the Mercedes colors for the last 9 years, it became habitual for Hamilton to find himself at the top step of the podium, week in and week out. Thus, the underperforming W13 caught him out of the blue and put him on the back foot even before he could fantasize about a record-breaking 8th world title.

From the get-go, a major concern for the 37-year-old is being outperformed by his teammate, George Russell. The new face of the Brackley outfit has raised the bar for consistency this season and is ahead of the veteran by 12 points. A point to ponder is how history is repeating itself for Hamilton.

In 2011, for the first time in his F1 career, he experienced what it feels like to be second best to the driver in the same machinery. His teammate, Jenson Button outscored him by an advantage of 43 points and rubbed the salt in the wounds of the driver who had his eyes on a second world title.

Presently, he is P6 in the standings and the title looks far-fetched as he faces a 112-point deficit to Verstappen. Nevertheless, we give him credit where credit is due, in his recent run of form, as in the last 5 races, Hamilton has found his voice with consecutive podium finishes.

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It is indeed an uphill task for him to recoup his legacy in the remainder of 2022, but he would have the intra-team battle at Mercedes in his sights. At least he should not lose out on that front.

Do you think the driver inked with “Still I Rise” on his back, can rise in the standing from here on out? Let us know.