Lewis Hamilton won’t view 2022 as a ‘dry spell’ but a time to ‘gain strength’
Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton speaking to his race engineer Peter Bonnington at the Monaco Grand Prix. Monaco, May 2022.
Facing the prospect of a first season on the F1 grid without a race win, Lewis Hamilton insists 2022 is not a “dry spell”, rather he views it as an opportunity to “gain strength”.
Arriving on the F1 grid in 2007, Hamilton has since racked up 103 wins and seven Drivers’ Championship titles.
A driver used to setting records for the right reasons, this season has been Hamilton’s record-setting season for all the wrong reasons.
It is the first time he has gone more than 10 races in a single season without a grand prix win, and the first time he has gone more than 11 races in a row without being P1.
His tally is now up to 16 for this season and 17 in a row dating back to last season’s Abu Dhabi finale.
No matter what he does from here until the end of the season he cannot win the title as he trails Max Verstappen by 167 points, and there are only 164 still in play.
Should the Briton and his team-mate George Russell both remain win-less, it would be the first time since 2011 Mercedes have not won a grand prix.
Hamilton is adamant he will not view it in a negative light.
Speaking to Sky Sports on the eve of the Singapore Grand Prix weekend, he insisted he “doesn’t look at [2022] as a dry spell.
“I look at it as a bit of adversity and I think that’s where you can really gain strength.
“I think we’ve gained a lot of strength in depth. When you are winning all the time it’s a wonderful thing but you don’t gain a lot when you win.
“There are six races [left] so there’s six opportunities and we will try to get a win, but if we don’t do well I don’t think it’s the end of the world.
“We will get back to the top.”
See you again soon, KL. ❤️ pic.twitter.com/HcJ4Wwdx2d
— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) September 28, 2022
Mercedes are, at least according to the numbers, still in the hunt for the Constructors’ title as they sit 174 points behind Red Bull with a total of 279 still up for grabs.
Hamilton, however, concedes beating Ferrari to P2 is the realistic goal.
Ferrari are only 35 points ahead of Mercedes heading into the Singapore Grand Prix, on a track Hamilton feels will suit his W13 if Mercedes can minimise their bouncing on the bumpy street circuit.
“Our goal is to try and get second in the teams because that makes a huge impact for everyone back at the factory and so these next six races are just about maximum attack, nothing to lose and going to give it hell,” Hamilton said.
“I would say Singapore should be a good track for us because it’s a high downforce circuit. However, it is bumpy.”
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