The 2022 season brought with it a whole host of regulation changes, as the FIA sought to improve the entertainment value and competitiveness of Formula 1.
The new rules were designed to allow cars to follow closer being each other and make overtaking and easier task, alongside helping bunch up the grid and reduce the gap to the top teams.
Some teams adapted well to the changes, such as Ferrari, who went from being the best of the rest competitors in 2021, to true title challengers in 2022, while other did not.
Mercedes found themselves battling with severe porpoising issues that caused their drivers a lot of discomfort while driving the W13, and had to focus all their attention on fixing this issue rather than improving the performance of the car.
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Lewis Hamilton has had a miserable season, driving a car that until very recently was only capable of a podium finish at best, never quite managing to get that elusive win.
The seven-time world champion ended his competitive relationship with the W13 with a mechanical failure that forced him to retire, two laps from the end of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, and he has expressed his excitement to see the back of the car that has caused him so many problems.
“I’m looking forward to the end of Tuesday which is the last time I have to drive this thing and I don’t ever plan to drive this one,” he said.
“It won’t be one of the cars I request to have in my contract.”
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The British hero has completed his first ever winless season in Formula 1, bowing out of 2022 with a hydraulic issue in Abu Dhabi which resigned him to a sixth place finish in the drivers’ championship.
Hamilton has also told the media that he has spent most of the year tinkering with his setup and undergoing experiments on his W13 in a desperate effort find something that worked for him, which perhaps explains the gap to his teammate in the championship.
The seven-time world champion remains positive about the future, as he has suggested that Mercedes understand where they have gone wrong this season, and are confident of providing their drivers with a much more competitive car in 2023.