Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes have just two races remaining until they can say a pleasurable goodbye to 2022 and the woeful W13; however, they’ll be doing all they can to end the year on a high.
It is incredibly difficult to comprehend that a side that has enjoyed as much dominance as Mercedes since 2014 are yet to win a race this year and will likely not do so either.
Recent races in the United States and Mexico have by far been the Germans best chance, with Hamilton having come second at both rounds.
Going into the last two races of the season in Brazil and Abu Dhabi, the Silver Arrows sit 40 points behind Ferrari in the Constructors’ Championship, with a miracle being needed to close the gap.
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According to Mercedes’ head of trackside engineering, Andrew Shovlin, the year has been a “shock” for Hamilton, whose been forced to make a “lot of compromises”.
“Lewis is always working hard, super motivated and desperate to try to win,” revealed Shovlin.
“I think, going from the competitive position that we’ve had in the preceding years, to a really difficult car at the start of the year, was a bit of a shock for him.
“Also a bit of an adjustment for us to get used to effectively racing in the mid-pack for a lot of the early part of the year, having to make a lot of compromises with the car to try to get the best out of it and then learning at the same time.”
Despite their struggles this season, they are without a doubt getting closer to the front and have arguably overtaken Ferrari in regard to their overall performance.
It does appear to be too little too late, though, with perhaps the real focus now being on next season and returning to the front.
Shovlin explained that the team is going in the “right direction”, and that Hamilton “can see” the improvements being made.
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“I think, the same as us as a team, Lewis can see that we’re definitely going in the right direction,” added Shovlin.
“We can see a clear route to getting back to a point where we can challenge for pole positions and wins.
“And you can see with Lewis’ commitment to the team, that’s increasing, the closer we get, and his commitment to putting in the work on his side to try and help us achieve those goals.