The unbeaten rulers of the hybrid era got defeated by their own doing. The Mercedes team put out their worst construction in the 2022 season. They got the car so wrong that the season saw Mercedes boys struggling to make it to Q3. The implementation of several new rules and regulations was not interpreted well by the team. The Mercedes Boss admitted to their shortcomings and a season-long trial after their construction error.

The season was specifically harder for Lewis Hamilton with what he had endured in Abu Dhabi in 2021. It had taken every ounce of strength in him to come back to the track and give it his all. However, the machine did not match the performance of the driver. “Fundamentally, he [Lewis] is there to win races and fight for wins, yet more than half of the season was a development game,” said Wolff

” [It was] very unpredictable, difficult to drive, and not competitive to race at the front. Therefore, it was more live testing than really racing,” said Toto Wolff speaking to GPFans. He knew it was futile to fight the front runners. In Beyond The Grid interview Wolff admitted that they got the physics wrong and also discussed how the failure of 2022 might just set the stage for a big Silver Arrows comeback in 2023.

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The Austrian Boss also said that they will keep their W13 at the reception in Brackley and in Brixworth as a reminder of how difficult things can be.

Most Difficult Season for the British Knight

Only disappointments had lined up waiting for Lewis in the 2022 season. He had never gone a season without a win. Lewis Hamilton had come second in the world drivers’ championship in his rookie season, only one point behind the winner, Finland’s Kimi Räikkönen. His four race victories that year are tied with Jacques Villeneuve’s F1 record for most wins in a rookie season. That is the master class he had showcased and continued to do so even in the most difficult of times.

However, 2022 was a learning curve for him and the team. “It’s been a very hard year for everyone,” Hamilton reflected during an in-house Mercedes interview. “For me, it’s been challenging in ways that I wasn’t expecting a thing, but I am incredibly grateful for that. I have felt more growth this year as a man, in terms of internal strength, than I have in many other years.”

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The team went through a humbling experience in 2022. They intend to come back stronger in 2023. A major advantage for them is that they have more wind tunnel time as compared to both of their main competitors. A triple challenge for the title will make the forthcoming season more exciting.