Lewis Hamilton: “Abu Dhabi will always stay with me”

Six months later, the finale of the 2021 season of F1 still so much talked about. So on the way to an 8^e world title, Lewis Hamilton was defeated by Max Verstappen in the last round after various decisions which worked against him. A terrible disillusionment for the Englishman who had run the perfect race until the tumult of the last minutes which finally allowed the Batavian to be crowned for the first time in his career.

Guest of Steve Jones for Channel 4 Sports, Lewis Hamilton was immediately launched on the subject of the last Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. If he logically does not keep good memories when it comes to looking back, the pilot Mercedes indicated that this episode allowed him to strengthen himself.  

« Abu Dhabi will always stay in me, underlines the main person concerned. When you work really hard in a specific way and it ends like this it can be a traumatic experience so I think that will stay with me. I would say this episode made me stronger and I was reminded of the strength I already had within me.

It's not something I think about all the time to be honest. I am one of those who look forward. I'm grateful because I love my job, I love this sport and I feel supported within this sport. And I am also delighted to see the changes that are gradually starting to take place."

Hamilton keeps his head high

If the end of the 2021 season was difficult to digest, the start of the 2022 campaign did not start in the best way. Alone in the world since the start of the hybrid era, Mercedes is having difficulty getting its hands on the new regulations. Starting on the basis of a unique concept, the German team is suffering and has still not experienced success in 10 Grands Prix. A sensation to which we were no longer accustomed but which does not worry Lewis Hamilton.

« For me it's not strange (not to win) because my career hasn't always been like the last 7 years, he remembers. Obviously, I had success during this one but in these kinds of situations you change your priorities, your expectations, you readjust and you rack your brains... That's what we all do on the team. We unite and work together. It's different. There are team members who only know success because they were there for the world titles. But there are some who have been there for more than 20 years and who experienced the Honda era (before the takeover by Ross Brawn in 2009 then the arrival of Mercedes in 2010).

It's a very interesting time. We're joining forces in other areas that maybe we didn't necessarily look at when we were successful because we didn't have the time to focus on them to improve them. It's teamwork."

Despite the difficulties encountered by Mercedes in this first half of the year, Lewis Hamilton does not intend to give up. If times are tough, the Englishman still wants to believe in the Mercedes concept.   

« It's important to say that we didn't do the best job, no one thinks so., he points. You have to stay in the race to try to continue to improve, collect data and try different things. We are not going to give up. We continue to try new things on the car. It doesn't necessarily work and one day we will arrive at the point where we will simply say that this is not the right concept and that we have to change it for next year or that it is the right one but that it There are small details to be sorted out. But yes it's frustrating for everyone because we lost performance with the car. We have extra performance but we can't implement it because the car is bouncing…” A hell of a headache.

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