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2009 F1 world champion Jenson Button believes that Lewis Hamilton's disappointing results in the past few races of the 2022 season could tamper with his confidence and faith in his future in F1. Button, however, admitted that his former teammate certainly has what it takes to become competitive once again over the course of the season if he is motivated enough to keep going.
Comparing Hamilton's season so far to that of his new teammate George Russell, who has significantly outperformed the seven-time world champion in 2022, Button said:
“He’s [Lewis Hamilton] been fighting for the World Championship since 2014 and his team-mate has come, young upstart George Russell, and he’s been competitive. Because George is driving a car that’s actually better than he was used to [at Williams], it’s given him confidence and he can push a bit harder. Whereas Lewis has probably not got so much confidence in the car to be able to extract the maximum out of it.”
Button then went on to describe what he thought Hamilton's mentality might be at the moment, saying:
“And when you’ve had a few bad races, it hurts mentally. This is a mental sport. It’s not just physical. Lewis, as we all know, is one of the best in the world, if not the best in the world at driving a Formula 1 car. He will be competitive again – if he wants to be. That’s the thing. Maybe he thinks his career is over and he wants to go and do something else. Who knows? But Lewis, if he has a car that’s good enough to win, he will win races.”
Lewis Hamilton currently stands sixth in the drivers' standings with a 34-point deficit against George Russell, who secured his first podium of the season for Mercedes at the Australian Grand Prix earlier this year.
Lewis Hamilton urges Mercedes to continue focusing on 2022 season instead of 2023
Lewis Hamilton has warned his team to focus on the W13 and the issues faced by the team this season before shifting their focus to next season.
As quoted by Mundo Deportivo, Hamilton said:
“I think we need to find out what’s wrong with this car before we can make another car. If we started making another car we could easily get it wrong. I think it’s about understanding this fully, which we haven’t done yet, and giving us a path to where to go. There are definitely a lot of things I wouldn’t want from this car in next year’s car, so I’ve already included them.”
Although Mercedes may not currently be in the running for the title, both Ferrari and Red Bull are cautious enough not to make the mistake of writing the Silver Arrows off this early on in the season.
