Lewis Hamilton is certainly motivated to return to the front of the grid in 2023, with the seven-time World Champion having warned that “there has never been a driver like me”.
Statistically, Hamilton is the greatest driver of all-time, with the 38-year-old boasting the record for most wins and pole positions in particular, whilst himself and Michael Schumacher share the record for most titles.
With 103 wins and 103 pole positions, no one comes close to the Mercedes driver’s immense record; however, his stats have remained the same for over 12 months.
Hamilton failed to claim either a pole position or a victory in 2022, with Mercedes having struggled to adapt to the new aerodynamic regulations.
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Last season was the worst of his career, with the Brit having slumped to sixth in the Drivers’ Championship.
To make matters worse, there is a record that goes horribly against Hamilton, with no driver having claimed a victory after surpassing 300 Grand Prix starts, something he was informed about.
Despite having reached 310 GP starts Hamilton isn’t afraid of the record he was told, due to him being one-of-a-kind.
“But there has never been a driver like me either,” Hamilton told Formule1.nl, when told no driver had won a race after making 300 GP starts.
Hamilton and Mercedes will be hungry and eager to return to the front in 2023, with the side having spent the majority of last season battling for top fives, rather than podiums or victories.
It was a position that Hamilton hadn’t found himself in really since his latter years at McLaren, with the British driver having been able to challenge for podiums and wins with Mercedes in 2013.
The Stevenage-born driver had entered 2022 eager to “hit back” following his 2021 heartbreak, but instead spent the year in Mercedes’ worst car of the hybrid era.
“We wanted to hit back after 2021. That was where our drive came from,” he said.
“But at one point I thought: ‘God, I really can’t fight for the title with this car’. If I can say anything from last year, it is that as a team we have only become more resilient and more determined.”
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Despite his struggles last season, Hamilton’s fans stuck by his side, with the Mercedes driver admitting that the fans kept him “going”.
“The fans continue to keep me going. The whole year, I was just hopeful [that] we would get there,” the Brit said.
“I kept trying to be the best team-mate I could be to everyone I worked with. We were all in the same boat, stuck together no matter what but we were all rowing in the same direction, needing to stay aligned. We just kept on working to make it through and get the best out of every opportunity.”