19/10/2022
NEWS STORY
Facing the very real prospect of a win-less season in 2022, Lewis Hamilton admits that everyone at Mercedes must "dig deeper" over the winter in order to turn things around.
With four races remaining, despite the upgrade it is taking to Austin this weekend, Mercedes faces its first win-less season 2011, while for Lewis Hamilton it would be his first year of not making it to the top step of the podium at least once since he entered the sport in 2007.
From the onset of pre-season testing it was clear the German team was struggling, but nothing prepared it or its fans for what was to follow.
Though the team has clawed back some of the advantage its rivals previously enjoyed, should it manage to overhaul Ferrari in the team standings it would say more about the Italian team's deficiencies than Mercedes improvements.
Though he hasn't given up entirely on the current season, Hamilton is mainly focussed on 2023 and the massive task his team faces.
"From being here for such a long time, knowing how long it takes to change things, knowing how long the processes are, the decisions have to be actioned months in advance of the direction that you're going," he tells Sky Sports.
"You're continuously collating data and getting different bits of information that can alter those along the way," he adds. "One thing is that I have 1,000 per cent confidence in my team.
"I would say just with how the rules are, I know it can be tough for everybody. Everyone is going to have to dig even deeper during these next six months, and it's not going to be easy, but I feel like everyone's up to the challenge, up to the task.
"If you look at Red Bull, they've got a car that's amazing," he admits, the Austrian team on the verge of securing its fifth constructors' title. "They've done an incredible job this year as a whole, every single individual there.
"So, their car will probably just continue to evolve, as probably will Ferrari's, although they've got some teething problems. Whereas we've had to take a step back and switch gears and go in a different direction and hope that we're on that right path to be able to get back engaged."
Though he has out-qualified his teammate, George Russell 11-7 over the course of the season, he trails him by 27 points. Hamilton claims that much of the reason for this was his decision to focus on developing the car in the opening stages of the season.
"We've learnt so much through the data," he says. "I've tested everything on the car, I've tested every setting that you can possibly test on the car 100 times, and I've paid the price for it through the first half of the season.
"But for me that was about gaining knowledge for the team so they could literally tick off the box and say that does or doesn't work. I felt like that was really my role.
"Yes, I'm behind in points, but it's the bigger picture. I hope that that work will impact us better for not only the remaining races this year, but into next year, in terms of where we steer, because I'm a part of that rudder, in terms of steering us in the direction.
"I hope so much that we can fight back next year, and we just have to speak it, and work it, into existence."