With the fallout from last year’s epic season finale beginning to dissipate, Lewis Hamilton’s eyes are fixed on the new era and a fresh challenge for a record-breaking eighth crown…
Formula 1 is a ravenous beast. No sooner has the flag fallen on a race than attention turns to the next event. This weekend’s hero is the next Sunday’s zero. And no sooner has one season ended than the focus switches sharply to the next. And while the repercussions of last season’s title decider are likely to ripple through the sport for some time, the immediate heat of the explosive conclusion to an epic campaign has already faded to a smoulder.
The reason for such dramatic de-escalation is simple: Formula 1 is all about problem-solving, moving forward to conquer the next challenge. And that restless search for perfection stretches beyond aero maps and chassis optimisation to those at the sharp end of competition – the drivers. And Lewis Hamilton is no exception.
The seven-time world champion might have been at the epicentre of the seismic events of Abu Dhabi and the Briton’s fury was such that he retreated to his fortress of solitude until the launch of Mercedes 2022 challenger.
But it was the prospect of a fresh campaign that lured the Mercedes driver out of seclusion. The scars might still be raw but the prospect of a new quest and another tilt at glory proved irresistible.
“At the end of every season, the question is whether you’re willing to commit the time, the effort, that it takes to be a world champion,” Hamilton explained at the launch of this year’s Mercedes W13.
“A lot of people underestimate what it takes to be a world champion. There are so many moving parts, it’s not just turning up and driving the car. The question is, do you want to sacrifice the time? Do you believe you can continue to punch at the weight? And so that’s a normal mental process for me.
“This one was compounded by a significant factor,” he added. “But I’m a very determined person and while moments like these can define careers, I refuse to let it define mine. So I’m focused on being the best I can be and coming back stronger.”
The Briton says he’s ready to do battle with arch-rival Max Verstappen all over again. “He’s a great competitor and we will go into another battle like we did last year and we’ll obviously grow from our races and experiences through the season.
“I move forwards, I don’t dwell on the past. I feel fresh, I feel centred and fully focused,” he added.
“I don’t have anything on my shoulders holding me back. Not that I did last year, but I’m not letting that [Abu Dhabi] experience be one of those.”
The first blows of the rematch with Verstappen were struck at the pre-season shakedown in Barcelona, where the W13 and Red Bull’s radical-looking RB18 took to the track and during the three days of running, the Mercedes driver admitted to being nervous that this year’s rules reset could result in a shuffling of the pecking order.
“Every year’s exciting,” he continued, “but [in] previous years, it was an evolution of the car whereas in this one it’s brand new. I’ve seen the designs of our car over several months, but seeing everyone’s car out there for the first time, you’re trying to see what’s different, if there is anything, why certain teams have chosen a certain route in terms of sidepod design, front wing and the floor. So I think it’s the most exciting [year] and, again, you have simply no idea where you stand.”
He needn’t have been unduly worried. Hamilton ended the three days at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya as the shakedown’s fastest man, pinging in a lap of 1m 19.138s late on Friday afternoon to pip new team-mate George Russell to top spot. Verstappen, meanwhile, logged a best time of 1m 19.756s.
But it wasn’t all plain sailing. Hamilton completed just 40 laps on day two before a sensor issue cut short his running and across three days both he and Russell suffered from the ‘porpoising’ experienced by many drivers due to the ground effect of the new cars.
“It’s been an interesting few days; it’s not been the easiest or smoothest running,” he said. “The car is a lot different to drive than in previous years, as are the tyres, but we’re working our way through our programme. We’ve got a lot of data to go through from these three days and we’ll just put one foot in front of the other and put in the work. It was good to get a feel for the different tyre compounds, but you never know where you are compared to the other teams.”
Mercedes’ Head of Trackside Engineering Andrew Shovlin was cautiously optimistic, saying: “We’ve learnt a huge amount over the past few days and have a lot of data to go through ahead of Bahrain. The rate of progression is going to be very high for all teams and while we look to be in a good place, we need to be mindful that our competitors may have a lot of performance to come between now and the first race.
“We’ll be working with the drivers on the simulator over the next few days; we’ve still got work to do tuning the balance both for single lap and long run. Bahrain is a very different circuit to a cold Barcelona but hopefully we can make good progress and build on what has been a promising start.”
Despite the predictable teething issues and the unknowns of the new cars, Hamilton’s confidence in his team and their ability to produce another race-winning car is unshakeable.
“My team don’t make mistakes,” he added. “Of course, there’s always a risk, but we don’t make mistakes. There’s a lot of very intelligent people back at the factory and I trust them 100%. Whatever we start with today, whether it’s good or bad, we’ll work through it. We’ve always had a great development plan and workforce.”
And ahead of the phony war of testing giving way to the real battle this weekend in Sakhir, Hamilton issued a warning to all his rivals. “I’m putting every ounce of energy into making sure I’m the best you’ve ever seen,” said Hamilton.
“I feel great. I feel fit. I always feel that after these sorts of experiences you can turn that emotion into strength and power. That’s what I’m doing. I’m putting that into my training, I’m putting that into the work I have with the men and women here in this team.
“If you think what you saw at the end of last year was my best, wait until you see this year.”
