‘Next year I expect a lot from him,’ Jacques Villeneuve feels F1 will see ‘the best’ version of Lewis Hamilton in 2023
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Lewis Hamilton
Lewis Hamilton ended 2022 P6 in the Driver’s Standings, outscored by his teammate George Russell, and for the first time in his career – with 0 wins to his name. It’s been a disappointing year for Hamilton and Mercedes, as for the first time since 2014, they did not have a car that challenged for wins consistently.
There were some one-offs, like Zandvoort, Mexico or Silverstone, and especially Brazil – with Russell leading Hamilton in a fantastic 1-2 finish. But for most of the season, the car has been second or third-best – surely not where the team and the drivers would want to be. In Abu Dhabi, Hamilton suffered the team’s first mechanical retirement of the season, a disappointing end to a disappointing season.
Toto Wolff has stated that Mercedes will be ‘back’ in 2023, and 1997 world champion Jacques Villeneuve thinks Hamilton will be back as well and show a better version of himself. In his column for Formule1.nl, Villeneuve wrote: “Next year I expect a lot from Lewis Hamilton, we’re going to see the best Lewis. He ended the season without a pole position and a win. That will do something to him, I think.”
Hamilton was also outscored by his teammate Russell, which has only happened twice before to him: Jenson outscored him back in the McLaren days, in 2012 and overall. The second teammate to beat him was Nico Rosberg in 2016, who won the championship in the process. Getting back on top of his teammate will be important for the Briton in 2023, even if his luck wasn’t the best in 2022.
Villeneuve: A shame Lewis Hamilton’s Abu Dhabi GP ended with retirement
While 2022 was ultimately disappointing, Mercedes improved considerably as the season went on: They were squarely third-best at the start, but after the summer break, they were often faster than Ferrari. If Lewis Hamilton comes out with ‘fire in his belly’ and Mercedes give him a better package, then Jacques Villeneuve thinks: “And then it gets fun, Mercedes has been able to improve. We saw that in Brazil.”
In the opening laps of Abu Dhabi, Hamilton had been running third, until he was told to give the place back to Carlos Sainz. He repassed Sainz but the medium tyre had some problems, and he fell behind again. After his pitstop to the hard tyres, he was actually faster than Russell, and Villeneuve feels it’s a ‘shame’ his race ended like it did: “It was a shame for him that he had to end the race like this, for the first time due to mechanical failure this season.”
There is a very real possibility of a three-way Constructor’s championship fight in 2023: Red Bull’s wind tunnel time has been docked, which should allow Mercedes and Ferrari to recover a little bit better. If the package is good enough, Hamilton will certainly at least be in the mix, and perhaps he would finally be able to tick the record-breaking 8th world championship off his wishlist.
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