Mercedes star Lewis Hamilton’s 2022 F1 season was a bit of a disappointment. After the heartbreak of last season, the Mercedes driver was looking to bounce back this season in emphatic fashion. The car was, however, not capable of fighting for the title and hence the season was spent away from the limelight without any hope of fighting for the title.
Having said that, the 2022 F1 season was not without its high points for Lewis Hamilton. There was even a stretch of five consecutive races where the Briton finished on the podium. So, what were the top 3 performances that were the highlights of Hamilton’s season? Let’s take a look.
Lewis Hamilton: Top 3 drives of the season
#3 F1 Mexican GP
The race in Mexico was a timely reminder that Lewis Hamilton needed to give the team and the people in the paddock that he was still the leader at Mercedes. The qualifying session saw George Russell secure a front-row start ahead of his teammate. The young British driver held a slight advantage over Lewis all weekend and was aiming to win the race in Mexico by challenging Max Verstappen.
The start of the race was all it took for Lewis Hamilton to jump George Russell and from that point onwards it was clear who was the quicker of the two Mercedes drivers. While Russell kept up the pace the best he could, it was Hamilton and Max Verstappen streaking away at the front in a battle for the win.
While the win was out of reach, Hamilton once again established who was the lead Mercedes driver by displaying a clear advantage over teammate George Russell.
#2 F1 United States GP
The race in Austin, where Lewis Hamilton was able to fight somewhat for the win, does not get the kind of accolades that it deserves. One of the biggest reasons behind this is that until then Mercedes had been able to score quite a few podiums in the season and the team having a one-off strong weekend was not considered too big a surprise.
Coming into the race in Austin, Lewis Hamilton had not scored a podium since the summer break. Spa’s first lap collision, then a strategic debacle in Zandvoort, took him out of podium contention as well.Beyond that, the race in Singapore was a complete mess and the race in Japan was not ideal either. At the F1 US GP, the Mercedes driver was somewhat down on confidence and to be fair, looking forward to the end of the season.
It was during this time that Hamilton pulled off a rather impressive showing in Austin. The driver started the race in the second row but with the two main competitors in George Russell and Carlos Sainz out of contention early in the race, it was a straight shoot-out between Hamilton and Verstappen.
While Max’s Red Bull did appear to have impressive pace throughout the race, Hamilton in his Mercedes was able to hang on. It was in the second stint, however, that Lewis Hamilton saw his first opportunity to take the initiative. When Max Verstappen’s second stop turned out to be a messy one, it gave Hamilton the lead, albeit on hard tires, while Verstappen was on mediums.
Eventually, Verstappen was able to trump the Mercedes and win the race, but it was a timely reminder from Lewis that with a better strategy and a better car, things could get very interesting.
#1 F1 Hungarian GP
The race in Hungary was a vintage Lewis Hamilton performance as he once again showed that if he has the car, he can pull off something sensational. The Mercedes driver saw his teammate secure pole position while both he and Max Verstappen started the race in P7 and P10.
Max Verstappen wins the Hungarian Grand Prix!
Lewis Hamilton is second and George Russell third in a repeat of the France podium.
Verstappen from P10 to win, even with a spin. That’s some drive. Leclerc goes from the lead to P6 thanks to strategy #F1 #HungarianGP
Max Verstappen wins the Hungarian Grand Prix! Lewis Hamilton is second and George Russell third in a repeat of the France podium. Verstappen from P10 to win, even with a spin. That’s some drive. Leclerc goes from the lead to P6 thanks to strategy #F1 #HungarianGP
In a race where coming through the field was of paramount importance, Hamilton made his way through the field with the utmost precision, that too on a track like Hungary where overtaking is not the easiest. Hamilton showed impressive race pace and the ability to preserve his tires late in the stint that helped him beat drivers like Sergio Perez, Carlos Sainz, Charles Leclerc, and his teammate George Russell.
Overall, the race in Hungary does get remembered for Max Verstappen’s drive through the field from P10 to win the race. However, Lewis Hamilton, a driver who had been somewhat struggling in the first part of the season, was able to strike form with a very impressive run that saw him finish P2 in the race.
With this race, Lewis Hamilton completed a 5-race run of consecutive podiums, something that gave the team hope and confidence that it could compete with the frontrunners this season as well.
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