F1 News: Lewis Hamilton "Appreciates" The Slower Teams As He Reflects On Difficult 2022 Season

"Trying to be better and fighting for something."

Seven-time F1 champion, Lewis Hamilton, has reflected on his difficult 2022 season and has explained that it has given him a "real appreciation" for what the other struggling teams go through. 

The 2022 season was the first in Hamilton's career that he did not win a single race or get a pole position. It was clear from the beginning of the season that Mercedes were struggling with many issues with the W13. Hamilton instructed the team to carry out the majority of the tests and data collection on his car so that his new teammate George Russell wasn't hindered as much. 

Once the team had managed to get the initial porpoising issues under control they found that they were covering a host of other issues with the car. Fortunately, the team managed to make some significant improvements towards the end of the year which has given them and fans hope for the 2023 season. 

Hamilton has spoken to C4 about the difficult year. He said:

“I felt this real appreciation for all these other teams that are trying to do the same thing, with the same intentions, trying to be better and fighting for something.

“Going through difficult times because they’ve built a car that’s clearly not capable of fighting at the front. It’s pretty cool to be a part of and to witness.”

Hamilton made his F1 debut in 2007 driving with McLaren. He continued that he always likes to keep an eye out on how his first team are doing. McLaren's team principal, Andreas Seidl, has just been confirmed to be moving to Alfa Romeo and they have promoted Andrea Stella to take Seidl's place. The Mercedes driver added:

“I like looking at McLaren, I always check where they are because that was where I started and I’m always wishing them well even though they’re competitors of mine.

“There’ll be days where they’re down and I feel sad for them because, again, that’s where I first did my simulation rounds, drove my car for the first time.