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Former F1 driver David Coulthard reminisced about 2021's Lewis Hamilton versus Max Verstappen title fight as they went wheel-to-wheel during the 2022 United States Grand Prix. Though Verstappen won the GP, Lewis Hamilton put up a stellar fight to take P2.
Coulthard, while speaking to Channel 4, expressed his happiness at witnessing the two world champions competing again (during the last laps as Verstappen overtook Hamilton):
“It looked like all of the Mercedes supporters, the Lewis Hamilton supporters, they were dreaming, he’d done a faultless race. But the Verstappen factor came into play again. An uncharacteristic slow pit stop that will be reviewed and understood, and then Max makes the difference. He was able to utilise the speed of his car, but then go wheel-to-wheel again with Lewis. How great was it to see these two wonderful drivers battling the corners and Lewis typically not giving up when he got past into the end of the backstraight."
Coulthard also revealed that he thought Lewis Hamilton would clash again with Verstappen. Further, he believes that Mercedes' improvements will set the season up for the last three races.
“I was watching the unfold and I was thinking ‘they’re going to come together, they’re going to come together’ because they did it so many times last year. But Lewis is the benchmark, he’s an established multiple champion. Max is just adding to those championships right now. But I think the season is coming together isn’t it? Okay maybe Ferrari weren’t quite as strong as we could have expected in the race but Mercedes have taken a step forward, and that sets us up for the last three grands prix.”
Mercedes and especially Lewis Hamilton slowly seem to be gaining pace and have managed to somewhat put up a fight with the Bulls and Ferraris. While they still lack0 in race performance, it will be interesting to see how they chase the two teams in 2023.
The Silver Arrows' are almost six months behind the top two teams in terms of car development. They spent a significant part of the season resolving W13's 'porpoising' and currently face a fundamental issue baked into the car.
Lewis Hamilton details W13 problems that will need a change next year
After getting easily passed by Verstappen during the US GP, Lewis Hamilton spoke about the lack of pace in his W13. This has been evident all season, where the W13 has not been up to the mark.
Post-race, while speaking to the media, Lewis Hamilton said:
"I think, under DRS they're like 35 km/h faster than us. If we're behind them, we're like, 22k faster, I think it is, with DRS on the back straight. So he came from a long, long way back. But even without the DRS, I think they're still something like 8 km/h up on us, so we've got a lot of time being lost on the straight, probably four-tenths at least a lap. And so we've got some improvements to make for next year's car."
This is the first time in 11 years that the Brackley-based outfit has not won a single race in a calendar year. Notably, the 2022 season has also been a personal low for seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton.
