Seven-time world champion, Lewis Hamilton, has said that he expects his team to end the 2022 season without any wins. Since the start of the season, Mercedes has failed to cross the finish line first, with second place being their highest position till now, and Hamilton doubts this is going to change before this season comes to an end.  

At the United States Grand Prix that was held on this past Sunday, Hamilton finished right behind winner Max Verstappen, who has already won the world champion title for this year. Last year, Hamilton and Verstappen were close rivals, and Verstappen’s performance was the key reason Hamilton did not win his eighth world championship title last year. This year, however, Hamilton did not feature in the title conversation as Mercedes’ performance has, for most of the season, been below par. 

Hamilton noted that even though Mercedes has made some improvement in the car, it was not sufficient to give them a win in any of the three races remaining. That means Mercedes might end the season winless. It also means this would be the first season since 2007 that Hamilton would end the season without a win. 

Even though Hamilton finished second on Sunday, he believes that his performance was aided by penalties rather than the car he was driving. He said: “So [in the USA] we were in the position we were in through reliability. If Charles was there, if Perez was there, for example, it would have been a different race because they would have been ahead of us. We would have been on the third row.

“It was great to start third and be in a position to fight, but on true pace, they were ahead of us today, and they will be the next three races.”

Still, despite the problems this season, Hamilton has no intentions of exiting Mercedes. On the contrary, he mentioned that he and Mercedes were working out another deal, which would come into force when his current deal ends in 2023. 

Leon Osamor