F1 news: Lewis Hamilton determined to make up for lost time after two disappointing seasons
- Planet Sport writer
- 22 January 2023
While Lewis Hamilton acknowledges Mercedes were well off the pace last season, he says he cannot wait to show what the 2023 car can do and challenge for titles again.
Hamilton and Mercedes have had a difficult couple of seasons in 2021 and 2022. Last year, they were completely blown out of the water by Red Bull and were slower even than Ferrari.
The season before they suffered the heartache of losing the Drivers' Championship to Max Verstappen in dubious circumstances in the final race of the campaign.
However, the legendary British racer is adamant that is all behind them now and he is eager to get back to racing at the front of the grid in 2023.
"We wanted to hit back after 2021. That was where our drive came from," he said.
"But at one point I thought: 'God, I really can't fight for the title with this car'. If I can say anything from last year, it is that as a team we have only become more resilient and more determined.
"The fans continue to keep me going. The whole year, I was just hopeful [that] we would get there.
"I kept trying to be the best team-mate I could be to everyone I worked with. We were all in the same boat, stuck together no matter what but we were all rowing in the same direction, needing to stay aligned.
"We just kept on working to make it through and get the best out of every opportunity."
After it was announced that one of Britain's richest men, Jim Ratcliffe, was in the running to buy Premier League club Manchester United, rumours began to spread that Hamilton was also involved but he denies that.
"I hope in the future to do something with Jim and build with him. I don't know when that will be or what that will be," said Hamilton.
"But I do want to get more and more involved in team because I really do believe in black ownership and black equity because there is a real lack of that in sport."
