Sir Lewis Hamilton has been driving in Formula One for the last 16 years. He had faced several challenges throughout his career. But the one challenge that he is facing currently is pretty annoying. The seven-time champion has been winless since the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. This legendary F1 driver generally likes to answer his critics on the track instead of replying vocally.
Prior to the 2022 season, he had never been winless in any single season. But it looks like he is about to be winless for back-to-back seasons. Lately, though, Lewis Hamilton had a few P2 finishes in 2023. Most recently, he had a P2 finish at the US Grand Prix. However, the FIA disqualified Hamilton’s finish because of post-race inspection results. And finally, Hamilton has spoken ahead of the Mexican Grand Prix that the authorities should have disqualified other drivers as well.
“There Were Other Drivers Who Got Away With The Same Reason,”- Lewis Hamilton
The authorities disqualified Hamilton on the basis of the failure of the post-race check on the new, upgraded Mercedes floor. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc also faced disqualification due to the same condition. On the other hand, the authorities cleared Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and McLaren’s Lando Norris of any penalty. As a result, Norris rose to second place after Hamilton lost that spot. Regarding the same event, ahead of the Mexican GP, Lewis Hamilton revealed that several sources told him that the authorities did not check many cars.
But some of them were illegal. However, they got away anyway. Lewis Hamilton said in his 16-year-long career; there have been many such occasions when somebody got away with it and they tested somebody who was unfortunate. Moreover, Lewis Hamilton asked for a better structure to determine if the race was fair and the cars. On top of that, Hamilton mentioned they never faced such issues at Austin before. The only way to solve this problem, as per Lewis Hamilton, is to let them change the floors.
Why Do Things Look Even Tougher For Hamilton?
The rough patch that Lewis Hamilton is going through is giving the people in FIA and F1 ample opportunity to cause more trouble for the seven-time champion. But Lewis is still doing his best to find a win from some Grand Prix. After all, it has been way too long for Hamilton to stay winless. From somewhere, the great Briton needs to win a GP and end the losing streak. The only race Mercedes won in the last two years came in the Brazilian Grand Prix.
But George Russell, the driver who came from the Williams team, in his debut season for Mercedes, won his maiden Grand Prix in Brazil. Hence, it is getting incredibly tougher for Hamilton to end the losing streak. Now, not only he must be wary of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen but also of his current teammate. Moreover, Hamilton is 38 at present; who knows how long will he end up continuing racing in F1? Hence, time is running out, and Lewis is still not getting back to winning ways. That’s why the fans fear he might not win the coveted eighth title.
