Lewis Hamilton is finally getting back to his best, competing for pole positions and battling the front runners as he comes to the end of what could be his first ever winless season.
The 37-year-old has admitted that the first half of his season had to be dedicated to experimenting with the car and his set up, as Mercedes fell far behind Red Bull and Ferrari in the development race under the new regulations.
Brazil and Abu Dhabi are now the Brit’s final chances to secure that elusive first win of 2022 before he plans his future in the off season, yet to put pen to paper on a new deal.
Toto Wolff has assured fans that talks will begin after the season, and that he is confident that his driver can stay at the top of his game for years to come and challenge for the record breaking eighth world championship.
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Hamilton has revealed that he has completely changed the way he approaches race weeks compared to when he was younger, making sure that he utilises every second available in a bid to get back to the top of the timing screens.
“I shifted my weekend rhythm from years ago,” he told reporters.
“These four days, I’m only here for one reason. That’s not how you speak to the media or it’s not how you’re seen but it’s how you show up, it’s the work you’re doing on track, how you’re driving on the track, how you get the car to be the best it can be and how you can be the best you can be.
“So I try to use up all the time, and the quietest part of the day particularly is the end of the day as no one is around, and that’s where I have no distractions.
“I can go through the data – and I’m constantly in contact with the simulation team back at the factory, so while that is running I’m able to have live interactions with the driver who is driving there.”
It is the Brit’s attitude and work rate that have made him a seven-time world champion, along with his world class talent, with the Stevenage hero saying that he’s at the circuit to race, not for anything else.
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“I eat at the track and then I’m depleted once I finish. I’m starting to wind down at the end, head back to the hotel, and then it’s a short time between going to sleep and waking up – so that’s what I like.
“I don’t want to finish early and go to dinner. I have no desire to go to dinner and waste time yapping. I’m here for one reason, that’s to win races. That for me is all the distraction so I don’t do that very often.”
Hamilton will be hoping his approach pays off in the final two rounds of the season to end the longest winless streak of his career.