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Lewis Hamilton was robbed of a historic eighth world championship in Abu Dhabi in 2021. Since then, the Mercedes driver has maintained silence on social media, keeping himself away from the public eye. However, once Hamilton returns, he will have a completely new challenge ahead, with new regulations coming into effect this season.
To add to that, there will be a new teammate as Valtteri Bottas has made way for the young George Russell. In a season with so many variables in play and many challenges staring Hamilton in the eye, could it be that the biggest challenge for Hamilton comes from within his team?
Could it be that for Hamilton the biggest challenge in the 2022 season turns out to be George Russell, of all people? On that note, here's a look at why Russell might just be the biggest challenge for Hamilton in the F1 2022 season:
#1 Lewis Hamilton might be distracted by what happened last year
It's fair to say that the loss against Max Verstappen last season did not go down well with Lewis Hamilton. The driver kept a dignified front during the podium ceremony, but has since stayed away from the public eye.
Notably, the driver missed the year-end FIA ceremony in Paris as well. It's close to two months now since the last race of the 2021 season in Abu Dhabi, and Hamilton has still been largely absent from social media.
Can a part of that absence be put down to a power tactic employed by Mercedes? Sure, that could probably be the case, but then it could also be that Hamilton has still not moved on from what happened last season.
If that is the case, how much of an impact would it have on him when it comes to preparing for an entirely new set of regulations in 2022? And, if he feels disillusioned by what happened at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, how efficient and effective will his preparations be for the new season?
If we are being fair, it's safe to say that if Hamilton has not moved on from the setback last season, his preparations might not be ideal for the new season. That wouldn't stand him in good stead when the actual racing begins this season, especially when he has someone like George Russell on the other side of the garage.
Can a peak, motivated and focussed Lewis Hamilton beat George Russell? There aren't too many doubters for that. However, how will a disillusioned Hamilton, who has not had the perfect pre-season preparation, fare against Russell? It's safe to say that things could get interesting between the two drivers.
#2 George Russell's experience in driving cars with less downforce
The 2022 F1 regulations will lead to reduced downforce levels throughout the grid. The car characteristics are going to need some adapting to, as they are going to be an entirely different beast compared to the previous set of regulations.
However, comparatively speaking, that could be an inherent advantage for George Russell. His extensive experience of driving a Williams throughout his F1 career could come in handy while adapting to the new car. That's because Williams lacked significant amounts of downforce compared to Mercedes.
Russell will essentially move from a car with less downforce to a car with a higher one, while it would be the other way around for Hamilton. It is much easier to move from a lower downforce car to a higher one. We've seen it in the past that these small details can have a huge impact in determining the quicker of the two drivers.
In 2019, when Charles Leclerc joined Ferrari and teamed up with Sebastian Vettel. Ferrari's 2019 challenger was not as balanced as the 2018 one. That caused multiple issues for Vettel. The German had to adapt to a worse car, while Leclerc was moving from a Sauber to Ferrari, and found the transition much easier.
In 2007, Fernando Alonso put down his deficit in qualifying to Lewis Hamilton to the extensive testing program the latter had with Bridgestone tyres and McLaren machinery compared to Alonso having only a pre-season to adapt. Can Russell gain an advantage on that front as Lewis Hamilton could struggle to adapt to a new machinery? It's difficult to say that it cannot happen.
#3 Mercedes might be getting tired of uncertainty around Lewis Hamilton before the start of every season
The 2022 pre-season is the second time in two years where we've had uncertainty around Lewis Hamilton's future in the sport. Even in 2021, there was speculation around the contract extension for Hamilton, as the two parties could not reach an agreement.
The contract negotiations dragged on beyond the end of the 2020 season. There was a point during the 2021 off-season when Hamilton was not a Mercedes contracted driver. He had not penned his deal for the 2021 season after his previous deal had expired in 2020.
Eventually, both parties did reach an agreement. Lewis Hamilton signed the extension during pre-season and then a further two-year extension during the season. This season, Toto Wolff himself has admitted that he's not entirely sure Hamilton will come back to F1, while the Mercedes driver too was very cryptic during his post-race interview with Jenson Button in Abu Dhabi.
There is speculation about Lewis Hamilton's social media absence being nothing more than a power move to arm-twist the FIA. However, that also raises the question of why someone like Hamilton, who is a global public figure, be willing to shut down his social media at the request of Mercedes? That's significant if he doesn't think he'd win back the title he lost last year.
If we look long and hard at this, it can be concluded that Hamilton's absence from social media might just be his own doing. He has, in all likelihood, not moved on from what happened last season. That also means Mercedes is yet again facing an uncertain future when it comes to Hamilton for the second time in two seasons.
If George can challenge and beat Hamilton early in the season, could there be a scenario where Mercedes feels they have a worthy successor for Hamilton in their ranks? Would that be time to look beyond the seven-time world champion?
In F1, teams always plan keeping one eye on the future, and if that's the case with Mercedes, they might already be planning for life after Hamilton. If that is indeed the case, Hamilton will face an uphill challenge in 2022 from the corner where he least expected from: his own team.
Could that lead to Hamilton raising his game and challenging the young driver? Or could it result in the team stacking its cards in Russell's favour? That's a question we don't have the answer to right now. However, one thing is for certain: George Russell might just be the biggest challenge for Lewis Hamilton in the F1 2022 season, one the British driver might not be paying the most attention to at the moment.
