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Lewis Hamilton has not had the best of starts to the 2022 F1 season. The driver scored a podium in the first race of the season but since then, it has been more of a hit and miss. In some races, luck has not worked his way, while in others, Hamilton has struggled with consistency as well.
So much so that there seem to be many similarities between the 2014 F1 season endured by Sebastian Vettel, where he lost out to his teammate Daniel Ricciardo, and this season for Lewis Hamilton.
#1 Starting the season on a sour note
For Sebastian Vettel, the 2014 season and the change in regulations were one thing that he did not like one bit. The power units were going to change and so would the aerodynamic regulations. For everyone, however, the big change was the new V6 Turbos as compared to the rather loud V8s that F1 was using until then.
Vettel did not like the sound of the new cars and the direction that F1 was consequently taking. He even made his displeasure public when asked about his views on the new regulations.
Lewis Hamilton did not have any issues with the new regulations. His gripe, however, came from what happened in Abu Dhabi last season. He felt robbed of a title. He felt that he was hard done by. He subsequently stayed away from the public eye for months after the 2021 season finale. As a result, the Briton did carry some of the baggage from last season into 2022 as well.
#2 Loss of motivation driving a sub-par machinery
It's hard to question someone who preaches "Never Give Up" and many other similar quotes, but the 2022 season has been a reflection of the mindset of Lewis Hamilton. At the Saudi Arabian GP, he questioned, rather sarcastically, if there were any points for finishing in 10th position.
The Mercedes driver, in effect, did give up on the Imola GP when he did not have his most proactive hat on. He pretty much followed Pierre Gasly home and scored no points in the process. More importantly, he did that without even pitching ideas of a pitstop, or suggestions of trying something different. During the last 4 years of Hamilton's reign, the Mercedes driver questioning the strategy throughout the race was one of the most visible features. In Imola, as soon as the prospects of a point seemed far-fetched, Hamilton stopped trying to maximize the result.
In Vettel's case, it was sort of similar. It was obvious very early in the season that Red Bull was not going to fight for the title. As a result, it appeared that the shoulders dropped for the champion and he did not attack the rest of the season as he would have if the car was competitive.
#3 Strong teammate exposing holes in the games of Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel
For Sebastian Vettel, it was Daniel Ricciardo who went ahead and beat him by capitalizing on all the small mistakes that the German made. In the case of Lewis Hamilton, it does appear that George Russell has taken up a similar role. He's been consistent, on the pace of Hamilton, and has not made too many mistakes. He currently leads his much-experienced compatriot by 23 points after the first 5 races of the season.
Vettel was not on his A-game in 2014 and Ricciardo took advantage of that. This season, Hamilton has not been on his A-game either, and it does appear that Russell is firmly placed to take the advantage of that.
