Lewis Hamilton’s life in Formula 1 has changed radically in a single year, and he has gone from fighting for the world title to being stuck in the middle zone with a less competitive W13 than expected in 2022. However, the British has fought to recover lost ground with his team, and throughout the current campaign has achieved several podiums that would seem impossible if Red Bull and Ferrari had not failed.
The seven-time world champion has six times among the top three, but has seen how in some tests he has had to start from a further back zone due to changes in the engine components, such as in Spa-Francorchamps or Monza. In those races, the Englishman opted for podiums, and that is that his teammate, George Russell, finished in fourth and third position respectively.
That, added to the fact that at the beginning of the course the German car did not have the necessary pace in qualifying and saw how it got stuck in the middle of the peloton, meant that Hamilton had to fight with the cars in the middle zone, something that he has never experienced in the highest category of motorsport.
They asked the Englishman about this, since, except on a few occasions, he did not know what it was like to manage real traffic in a Formula 1 race: “It is a thousand times better to fight with people. When I started with my first kart it was something old, it was all bent and dented, and you always had to start from the back, with worn tyres.
“And that’s what I’ve always liked to do,” revealed the Mercedes driver after the Italian Grand Prix. “So starting today, having those battles is a lot more fun than starting first and walking away. It’s a different challenge.”
“I prefer the battles with the drivers, when you win it’s something completely different, and you feel proud for everyone, I love the idea of coming back, so today I felt like I’ve climbed a ladder, progress is a good thing, “he said. Hamilton.
In Mercedes they continue with the development of their car to be a rival to take into account in 2023, although for this they will have to spend another six races starting from places like today, fighting with some single-seaters in the middle zone.
When the seven-time world champion was asked about his departure, an always sensitive moment at Monza, he replied: “I didn’t touch anyone, I think, but I saw some bits flying off other cars hitting mine. .
“And I think that damaged the front wing on the tire. Those things I don’t even know what they are for, but I was shaking, that was damaged, they get in your view, that’s all,” concluded the Arrows team. silver.
