Lewis Hamilton In Desperate Need Of Luck To Take The Fight To Russell
In some ways, if one may put it like that, it makes little sense how a struggling Mercedes team have George Russell, so very early in his Silver Arrows career, ahead in the Drivers’ standings where it comes to a certain Carlos Sainz jr. This is when the speed, clearly the force one needs to contend with in Formula 1, belongs to Ferrari, Mercedes not so much!
But what’s most surprising, over and above any other thing at this time in the sport is that an icon of the sport and undoubtedly, the most successful driver on the current grid in Lewis Hamilton, is struggling to get going.
A massively improved driver in one race, take Spain for example and then again, someone who was found struggling, think Monaco, the 2022 F1 season has been no more than an up and down fight for the legendary seven time world champion.
Where the complex issue of porpoising hurt Lewis Hamilton’s chances of mounting a serious challenge to the 2022 -bound throne, inconsistent performances exacerbated by the inability to put together blazing laps hurt his case even more.
Maybe, it just makes sense to say that what a hero of the sport needs, more than anything else, is some luck.
Having said the above, none other than Lewis Hamilton’s own team boss, someone who’s been his key ally in the process of picking six world titles with the iconic Mercedes team, Toto Wolff is of the view that what the Formula 1 great needs is a bit of luck in a bid to rise to the occasion and improve his chances where the current season is concerned.
So the key question is, what does Toto Wolff feel about the man who has against his name rather eye-popping achievements such as- 103 race wins, 59 fastest laps as well as 183 podium finishes:
No, I think when you look at the bad spells that Lewis had, I mean, look at the race: stuck again. Contact with Esteban [Ocon], stuck behind Fernando [Alonso], the red flag in qualifying, and I think the pendulum will swing. So [once] these unlucky situations stop with Lewis, they’re very much on the same pace. [During] one practice, one leads and then the other one. And that is great. Also they work together in order to get our car straight, because we need to get our car straight.”
And having said that, the famous Austrian team boss also reflected on the actual standing that the iconic Mercedes team aspires to achieve in this season as the fight towards the front of the grid is clearly getting out of the hands for the Brackley-based outfit:
“Third in the standings is where we belong but not where we want to be!”
Though that being told, what appears a touch disappointing is that the man who was responsible for several great title triumphs for the better part of his Mercedes stint that began in the season 2014, is still struggling somewhat to explore the true potential of his car. And that is when, Lewis Hamilton’s teammate, someone who’s no fewer than thirteen years, is already making the right noises in the W13 having demonstrated a growing culture of consistency in just his first season with the team.