…this year” – Seven-time Formula 1 World Champion Lewis Hamilton has had his fair share of ups and downs in recent years. After narrowly missing out on the title in 2021 and facing another challenging year in 2022, the British driver, who recently signed a contract extension with Mercedes until 2025, finds himself in a difficult position in 2023.
In candid remarks, Hamilton has revealed that he’s eagerly awaiting the end of this season as he looks to turn the page on two challenging years. Indeed, in effect, the British driver says that ‘he’s done with F1’ this year.
Hamilton’s ongoing struggles
The 2023 season has proven to be a complicated one for Lewis Hamilton. Despite his impressive track record, he has struggled to secure victories and podium finishes, largely due to the performance gap between his Mercedes car and those of his rivals and an impressive younger team mate in George Russell.
The frustration of falling behind in the championship race has weighed heavily on Hamilton’s shoulders.
Looking ahead to 2024
With the current season presenting its unique challenges, Hamilton is already looking forward to the 2024 campaign. He has made it clear that he is counting down the days until the start of next season, eager to say goodbye to what has been a challenging period for him and his team.
Sebastian Vettel reunited with his 2011 title-winning Red Bull RB7 at the Formula Nurburgring event 🤩
🎥: @redbullracing #F1 pic.twitter.com/H4pNEJSzFy
— Formula 1 (@F1) September 11, 2023
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Qualifying problems and car limitations
Hamilton is aware of the areas where he needs to improve, particularly in qualifying to give himself a better chance on race day. He is also coming to terms with the limitations of his current car, acknowledging that it is not as good as the competition. Despite these difficulties, Hamilton remains determined to make the best of the situation until the end of the season.
“When it comes to my performance, you don’t have to look far. I just need to do better in qualifying so that Sunday won’t be so difficult and live with the car we currently have.
“[In Monza] we were the third fastest, and of course it hurts all of us. We would like to be faster. But we are counting the days until February,”
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Hope for Singapore
Hamilton’s patience may be wearing thin, but he remains hopeful of a strong performance at the upcoming Singapore Grand Prix. The high-downforce nature of the Marina Bay Street Circuit could potentially play to Mercedes’ strengths, offering a glimmer of hope in an otherwise challenging season.
“I think [Monza] could be the worst circuit for us. Singapore is all high downforce, and when we put our wing on high downforce, we’re usually a little bit better. Not as bad as here. So I hope I’m right,” said Hamilton ahead of the Singapore Grand Prix.
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An ongoing battle
With eight Grands Prix remaining in the 2023 season, Hamilton’s battle is far from over. However, it is clear from his comments that his motivation and attention has ended for this Formula 1 season, and is already shifting towards 2024.
As he navigates the remaining races of this year, Hamilton’s focus is on closing this chapter and setting his sights on a more promising future in F1 as the veteran driver effectively ‘gives up’ on F1 this year.
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Just one incredible pole lap 🤤@LewisHamilton was on the absolute limit around the Marina Bay Street Circuit in 2018 🤯#SingaporeGP #F1 @MercedesAMGF1 pic.twitter.com/cD5Xkc0J0L
— Formula 1 (@F1) September 12, 2023
Lewis Hamilton the world’s biggest wast of time F off now nobody likes you
Rab go f yourswlf
🤣
I agree but please tidy your English. There’s a good lad, pip pip.
Redbull, neither any of the other teams complained ‘they were done with F1’ when Mercedes was winning every season. Instead, they kept fighting every race to achieve the best possible. Never gave up. Thats wht Redbull, Ferrari, Aston Marten, MvLaren made such progress. Mercedes, Wolff and Hamilton are like little todler boys who lost their game and now screaming and shouting that they dont want to play anymore and acusing all the others its their fault. Such a sad story. But when a real challenge hits you, your true character comes the surface. And what Eolff and Hamilton are exposing is not very nice.