The start of the 2022 season hasn’t been great for Mercedes. As for Lewis? It is far from great. The championship protagonist at the start of the season sees himself going down the ladder with every race. With the latest Imola GP concluded, Lewis Hamilton hit a new low in his career. Nico explains.
“We will come out of this.” ❤️
— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) April 25, 2022
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The Mercedes car isn’t as fast as it used to be. Moreover, their engine customers like McLaren, Williams, and Aston Martin have put together the fact that they lack straight-line speed as compared to Ferrari or Red Bull. However, is it the car that’s hindering Hamilton’s performance? Former Mercedes driver and 2016 F1 Champion Nico Rosberg elucidates.
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Lewis finished the race in P13. For most of his race, the seven-time world champion was behind the AlphaTauri of Pierre Gasly fighting for P13 and Yuki Tsunoda for P12. As the Briton crossed the finish line, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff came on the radio. Toto stated an apology to Lewis for the car and assured him that things are going to get better in the coming days.
Talking about this, Rosberg conveyed to Sky Sports F1, “It’s very smart because it’s not quite the truth and let’s not forget that Russell is in P4 with that same car. So Lewis definitely had a big role to play in that poor result this weekend.”
P4 and solid points, in a weekend of damage limitation for us. Well done, George 👏 pic.twitter.com/10xOu133w1
— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) April 24, 2022
How did the weekend go for Lewis Hamilton at Imola?
The Emilia Romagna Grand Prix saw George Russell finish in P4, whereas Hamilton finished in P13. Even though George started from P11 on the grid, he made quite an improvement in the race. As for Lewis, he only could manage P13. Just a place better from his starting position on the grid.
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Not where you deserve to be, Lewis. We’ll keep our heads down and get you back where you should be. pic.twitter.com/XFXMYZHUyM
— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) April 24, 2022
Moreover, if things like Carlos Sainz and Fernando Alonso’s DNF are to be considered, getting into P13 isn’t any improvement. Ocon’s five seconds penalty moved him out of the top 13, and something similar happened with Daniel after his crash with Sainz. Talking about the two Mercedes drivers’ positions in driver’s standings, George leads Lewis by 21 points after four races. Russell is in P4 with 49, whereas Hamilton is in P7 with 28 points.
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The start of the season has been quite lucky for the Mercedes driver as well. Red Bull’s double DNFs handed Lewis the podium place at the season opener in Bahrain. Another DNF by Max Verstappen pulled Hamilton into the top 4 in Australia. The last win that Lewis Hamilton picked up is still the 2021 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. All in all, the 2022 season has started the way Lewis wouldn’t have wanted. Is it Hamilton’s fault? Or that of his car? Let us know in the comments below.