The past two seasons have not been ones that Lewis Hamilton will look back upon with much fondness as the 37-year-old continues to hunt for an elusive eighth world championship.
2021 saw the Brit lock horns with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and he looked set to become the most successful F1 driver of all time until a controversial safety car procedure saw the Dutchman snatch the championship from him on the final lap in Abu Dhabi.
The race result was heavily protested by Hamilton and Mercedes who believed there was a clear injustice in how the latter stages of the race panned out but to no avail as Verstappen won his maiden title.
After a short winter break where it was unsure if Hamilton would even return to the sport, the Brit eventually did come back for the 2022 season but much to his frustration was met by an uncompetitive W13.
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The 37-year-old spent the first half of the season violently bouncing as the W13 struggled with a porpoising issue and eventually ended the year winless while his new teammate George Russell took victory in Brazil.
Former F1 champion David Coulthard has sympathised with the Brit, suggesting that the disappointment of 2021 was compounded by Mercedes shortcomings last year.
“In my opinion, Lewis has only found the energy along the way through the season and also the hunger for success,” he said.
“After Abu Dhabi last year, the winter break was short and Lewis’ frustration prevailed. In addition, he has been at the front for a long time in his career and he got an extra tap when the car turned out not to be good enough for pole positions or victories at the beginning of the year.”
Former Red Bull driver Mark Webber has agreed with Coulthard, suggesting that it took Hamilton some time to recover from his 2021 heartbreak.
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“Lewis is of course one of the very best in our sport, but it was a tough winter for him to pick himself up again and come back,” said Webber.
“There was a second blow after that when the car turned out to be uncompetitive.”
Hamilton is not ready to give up just yet however, as the seven-time world champion has recently admitted that he dreams of retiring as a champion and is set to sign a multi-year contract extension with Mercedes over the winter break.