Can Lewis Hamilton win a race in the 2022 Formula 1 season?
We can all agree that it hasn’t been the best start to the season for Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes. Fresh off the back of the disappointing end to the Drivers’ Championship in 2021, Hamilton would have entered the 2022 season with high hopes of claiming a record eighth world championship after seeing it controversially snatched away from him in Abu Dhabi.
Sadly, his Mercedes car has been well off the pace in the opening 11 races of the season and he currently sits well off the pace in terms of the drivers’ championship, currently sitting in sixth place following the Austrian Grand Prix.
Whilst the Drivers’ Championship seems well beyond his reach this season, especially given the form of Championship leader Max Verstappen and second-placed Charles Leclerc, Hamilton does have a couple of records on the line that he will be keen to preserve in the remaining 12 races of the 2022 season.
Hamilton’s amazing records
Lewis Hamilton has been competing in Formula 1 for 15 years and during that time, he has managed at least one pole position and one victory in each of those seasons to date.
He has a record 103 victories in F1, however, this is the first season in a long time where both of those records are on the line.
Up until now, his Mercedes simply hasn’t allowed him, or teammate George Russell to get anywhere close to taking out a win. However, there have been signs of improvement over the past 2-3 races, with Hamilton taking out third place and a spot on the podium in Canada, England and Austria. This was preceded by a fourth-place finish in Azerbaijan.
Russell has also been on the third step of the podium three times this season with a further four fourth-place finishes.
These results are certainly encouraging, however, it still feels as though Mercedes is relying on both Red Bull and Ferrari to slip up if they want to take out a victory in one of the remaining races this season unless they can make significant improvements to their own car.
Issues with the Mercedes
Hamilton went into the opening race of the season in Bahrain as the favourite to win the Drivers’ Championship in 2022, with teammate Russell third-favourite behind Verstappen.
It very quickly became clear, however, that Mercedes’ hopes of fighting for either of this year’s titles would be very slim.
The W13’s persistent porpoising – an issue that sees the car bouncing on the road – is not only extremely uncomfortable for the drivers, but it also compromises the car’s downforce levels, which meant that neither Hamilton nor Russell could get anywhere close to the Red Bulls or Ferraris during the opening races of the season.
Is Hamilton losing his touch?
Whilst the issues with the car were undoubtedly an issue, questions were also being asked about Hamilton’s focus. Following the controversial ending in Abu Dhabi where an incorrect application of the rules from then race director Michael Masi cost Hamilton the race and the championship, Hamilton took a step back from F1, questioning whether he would be back in 2022 after suffering such a huge disappointment.
After making his return, it seemed as though he would be more determined than ever to claim a record-breaking eighth world title in 2022, however, in the early races of the season, he was forced to play second-fiddle to his younger teammate, Russell.
After 11 races of the season, Hamilton still sits one place behind Russell in the Drivers’ Championship, however, he has managed to close the gap on Russell in the last three races after seeing the gap widen to 34 points after the Monaco Grand Prix. The gap after Austria now sits at just 19 points and he is only 24 points behind fourth-place Carlos Sainz Jnr who has picked up a win this season.
Can Hamilton win a race in 2022?
Following the Austria Grand Prix, Hamilton was in a more buoyant mood, claiming for the first time that he believes Mercedes can win an F1 race this season.
Talking to ESPN, Hamilton believes the tide may be turning the way of Mercedes at last.
“A long way back, earlier this year, I definitely wasn’t sure that we’d get a win in this car,” Hamilton said ahead of the Austrian Grand Prix. “That was definitely not the way we like to think but it was that feeling that ‘Jesus, there’s a long, long way to catch everyone up’.
“But it’s definitely been hugely encouraging. For a long, long time, we would make changes and not see it do what it says it was going to do and improve the car.
“It was a good step in Barcelona but then we had several difficult races following it. Then we just had these last two races which were quite strong and that’s really encouraging us in the right direction and that there really is potential in the car.
“With a little bit more digging and a little more hard work, hopefully we can get closer to winning a race, so I truly believe we can win a race win this year.
Whilst Hamilton is an outsider to lift his eighth world championship in 2022, he still has the opportunity to keep his unbelievable record of achieving at least one pole position and one win in every season he has competed alive.
He is currently the third favourite with Betway Sports for the French Grand Prix, behind Verstappen and Leclerc and this sums up his position perfectly right now. He is relying on a driver error or an issue with both the Red Bull and the Ferrari if he hopes to overturn the odds and claim a victory in the 2022 F1 season. Watch this space!
