Lewis Hamilton Salvaged the 2009 F1 Season Despite Having the ‘Worst Car’ and He Could Do It Again in 2022

Lewis Hamilton has always had perfect cars! Although this is what most people believe, that’s certainly not true. The seven-time- world champion is a testament of hard work and patience under any circumstance. It is safe to say Hamilton and team Mercedes are struggling. The setups they’re using are not working out for them, with consistent porpoising and pace that makes things worse.

Lewis Hamilton had a tough 2009 season

Things have gotten so worse for the Mercedes that Hamilton recently claimed how he doesn’t enjoy driving this car. Comparing it to his infamous MP4-24, he said, “There are people that watch and say that I’ve never had a bad car. And I can assure you I have. The 2009 car was very, very far off, and was the worst car that I’ve had.”

“This car currently is not far off that experience, but I think has a lot of potential. As did that car, we fixed it eventually and got back in the fight, or in the game. And I have the utmost faith that my team can do that here too.”

Let’s rewind to the year 2009 when Lewis Hamilton was a McLaren driver. 2009 was a season Hamilton surely remembers, because it was a roller coaster ride. Double diffusers, taller and narrower rear wings dominated this season. The introduction of these new aerodynamics cost the Woking team a lot. They failed to keep up with their competitors, as the car faced significant aero issues.

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However, by round 10, McLaren had updated their package. Though the car was still not a championship contender, it surely assisted Hamilton to a few podiums. Called a ‘turd’, this car made significant improvements, with Lewis ending the season with a solid P5.

Differences between the W13 and MP4-24

But how does the MP4-24 compare to today’s W13? Well, to be completely honest, it would be a stretch to compare these two cars. Though Hamilton is struggling in a similar way, he’s far better off with this Mercedes. 2009 had a controversial “Diffuser” issue that favored Brawn F1’s titular chances. But despite the diffuser’s legality in question, the McLaren car was simply too slow, unreliable and uncompetitive.

W13, on the other hand, cannot be called uncompetitive purely. Moreover, there are no illegal parts involved. But the car faces a major issue of ‘porpoising’. It’s not necessarily ‘unreliable’ and though it’s slow, the British team is very much capable of catching up to their rivals. All in all, W13 might give Lewis a chance at the title, if it makes significant improvements in some time.

As someone who is usually seen on the podium after a race for the past decade, this is understandably a difficult time for Lewis. Though his team has gotten lucky in previous races with rivals not finishing their race, it might not be the case this time.

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We hope Mercedes catches up with everyone soon. It’s never easy to write off a team like them so early in the season. Despite different circumstances, they have the caliber to pull off what McLaren did in 2009.