“The Hunger Is There”: 16 Months Since His Last Win, Lewis Hamilton Keeps His Optimistic Faith Despite Recent Red Bull Slamming

The two oldest drivers on the F1 grid are probably the most optimistic. Usually, as time passes, the optimism decreases. But not for these old guns. Both of them are taking chances gunning for another driver’s championship. The 7X champion revealed that he is still hungry and wants more despite the Red Bull smashing, which started at the 2021 Abu Dhabi GP. 

Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes have been taking hit after hit from Red Bull. The Briton’s last win came at the Saudi Arabian GP in 2021. The struggles continued at the 2023 Azerbaijan GP, where Hamilton started struggling on the Medium tires and had to pit early. Unfortunately, the safety car came out a lap later causing him to lose 5 places and dropping to P10. However, Hamilton’s spirit to never give up pushed him up to P6 in the end. 

Lewis Hamilton explained how the main race on Sunday was a difficult one as they lost so many places. Despite the setbacks, the 7X champion has not given up. Hamilton wants more and suggests that the fight that they put up showcases the hunger within. He then concluded by hoping that the new upgrades make him feel comfortable with the car and then automatically the pace will come out. 

According to Motorsport.com Lewis Hamilton while talking about the positions lost because of the safety car said, “Well, naturally, because so much work goes into the weekend and then yesterday was a difficult day where you went backward, and then today I was hoping for a better day and I lost so many places, that’s definitely a kick in the teeth.”

Being optimistic and believing that the upgrades will help, he said, “But then I was like, ‘well, it is what it is’. I think today shows that the hunger is there. And once I get that confidence in that car, the pace will come out.”

Read More: Lewis Hamilton Forced to Give Up on “Magic” Dream as Brutal Reality Strikes Him Hard Before the Miami GP – EssentiallySports

Lewis Hamilton earlier suggested that he is not comfortable with the seating position of the Mercedes. He explained how he feels disconnected from the car because of the forward seating position. Nevertheless, Hamilton explained how he had a great race post the restart.

Lewis Hamilton opens up about racing hard post the restart. 

The race would’ve been a lot more fruitful for the 38-year-old had the safety car not been deployed. Hamilton explained how there was absolutely nothing that he could do about the safety car restart and he instead focused on making up the ground. The Briton got his head down and raced hard since the restart. For the last part of the race, Hamilton was on Carlos Sainz’s gearbox but was not able to overtake him because of the straight-line deficit. 

According to Formula1.com, Lewis Hamilton said, “I knew there was nothing I could do about it, so all I could do was just focus on what I could control. I got my head down, was just racing hard from the restart, and had a great battle with a bunch of cars, which was really positive for me to feel in the car. I was chasing the Ferrari [Sainz] down at the end, just not quite enough to get by him. If I hadn’t had that Safety Car stuff maybe we’d have had a better battle until the end.”

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What do you make of Lewis Hamilton’s spirit of never giving up?