The journey of Lewis Hamilton in F1 Motorsport has been a memorable one. Keeping in mind all of his achievements, he has arguably reached the GOAT status as a Formula One racer. The Englishman fought against all odds to become one of the most successful racers in history. From being the only black driver in F1 motorsport, he is today the joint record winner of seven world championships with the Legend Michael Schumacher
In the case of most race wins and pole positions, he is the best with 103 for both and just waiting for that elusive title. He won the championship four times in a row from 2017 to 2020. Lewis Hamilton has secured the second-most hat tricks in race wins 19 times. Only Michael Schumacher has a better record with 22 hat tricks.
One more title, and there will be no further debate about who is the greatest, statistically at least. Lewis Hamilton could have made the record in 2021. But after a close fight against Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, his winning streak broke that year. And a terrible 2022 season that followed displayed some signs of worries.
Lewis Hamilton, 38, is perhaps reaching the end of his career and, with two unsuccessful seasons in a row, may be thinking about hanging up his helmet soon.
The biggest concern of the last season was the Mercedes car. Something was wrong with the physical aspect of the vehicle, especially the issue of porpoising. Due to this technical trouble, the drivers frequently complained about ‘bouncing’ that caused terrible injuries. Lewis Hamilton was badly injured in Azerbaijan Grand Prix, causing his spine to clutch. The seven-time Champ later explained that it’s hard to recover quickly after these injuries.
The worst sign of last season, though, was for the first time since Hamilton debuted in 2007, he never had a single F1 season without a single race win. Lewis Hamilton came close in Sao Paolo, finishing second as his teammate George Russell won the race. That was the only victory for Mercedes in 2022, a major reason to worry. From 2013 since Lewis and Toto joined the group, Mercedes was unstoppable and completely dominating but suddenly dropped to this level of poor performance.
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The team is working on this issue and looking for a major turnaround for the team and the Superstar. The Champ will surely look forward to ousting the Dutchman and conquering what once was his. The upcoming W14 car is a major concern for Hamilton. This is because if Lewis Hamilton fails to adapt to the vehicle can cause many problems for the Mercedes team and himself.
A new talented rookie with a very familiar name is also waiting to take his place, Mick Schumacher. The 23-year-old Mick joined the Mercedes team in late 2022 and can follow in his father’s footsteps by doing the things Michael Schumacher did during his time with Mercedes during the 2010-2012 seasons.
Keeping all these factors in mind, the Hamilton era’s end does not look too far away. But Lewis Hamilton has expressed his desire to finish as a world champion. Lewis also mentioned that he wanted to be part of this Mercedes family even after 2023 and is not thinking about quitting that soon.