After the heartbreak of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in 2021, where Lewis Hamilton saw a record breaking eighth world title controversially snatched away from him, the Brit would have been hoping for revenge in 2022.
Unfortunately for the now 38-year-old, things only got worse for himself and Mercedes under the new regulations, as the team struggled to compete with the likes of Ferrari and Red Bull with an uncompetitive W13.
Not only was their car slow, it harboured a severe porpoising issue that took months to solve putting Lewis Hamilton out of contention for the 2022 championship title before the season was really underway.
The Brit failed to win a single race last year however he has claimed that these struggles have made him hungrier than ever to win an eighth championship title, hence why he is set to sign a multi-year contract extension with Mercedes in the coming weeks.
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While an eighth championship would take him clear of the legendary Michael Schumacher, who also won seven titles over the course of his career, there are a multitude of other records that could be broken by Hamilton in 2023 if things go his way.
Hamilton could break Schumacher’s record of 22 ‘Grand Slams’, needing four more race weekends where he takes pole position and wins the race with the fastest lap to surpass the German.
If the 38-year-old could go one better and record a pole position, fastest lap and then lead every lap on the way to victory three more times he would go ahead of Jim Clark who managed this feat eight times in only 73 races.
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Michael Schumacher also currently holds the record of the most fastest laps with 77, and with Hamilton sat on 61 a return to dominance for Mercedes could easily see the Brit break yet another record.
Max Verstappen’s stunning 2022 saw him accumulate 454 points over the course of the season, breaking Hamilton’s previous record of 413 and giving the Mercedes driver the chance to re-break the record this season.
Hamilton already holds the record for most wins and pole positions in Formula 1, meaning that should he be able to continue breaking records in 2023, there is little doubt that he will retire as the greatest racing driver of all time.