Lewis Hamilton has reflected on the 2022 season saying it was “a very, very strange year” for the Mercedes team.
During a recent interview with The New York Times, Hamilton spoke about the difficult year for the team. Mercedes struggled with major porpoising problems which led Hamilton to have back injuries. Then, when they were able to get the porpoising under control, it was clear that there were many other issues with the W13.
The team were able to make some significant improvements towards the end of the year and Hamilton’s teammate George Russell achieved his first career win at the Brazilian Grand Prix, however, 2022 was the first season in Hamilton’s F1 career where he didn’t get a single race win.
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Hey explained:
“We’ve started seasons at the front and been fighting championships and it’s a different kind of journey.
“This year has been far, far deeper of a feeling because people work so hard to build this car, and it’s, unfortunately, not been the car that they had hoped it would be.
“If everybody had just given up and turned up lazy then that would have defeated the purpose.
The Mercedes driver continued:
“Everyone, I’m so proud of. I’ve really seen, more than ever, the strength of every single individual in this team, way more than any of the winning years. I’ve never been so proud.
“Also, people at the top of the business within our team who want to do better, who want to do more, who realize that there’s a better impact we can have in the world, this has been a crazy experience.
“Then on top of that, we’re not winning but there’s been more love. I’ve noticed more love even though we’re not winning. It’s been like ‘One second, but we’re not very good right now’.
“It’s been a very, very strange year in that respect.”
The team are looking ahead to the 2023 season and are confident in the changes that have been made to the W14.
