Can we be and have been? Philosophically, this is doubtless debatable. On the track, on the other hand, it would seem that the answer is negative for Lewis Hamilton. Barely a few months ago, however, the Briton was very close to winning a historic 8th title of world champion. But since the breathtaking and controversial finale of the last Grand Prix of the 2021 season, in Abu Dhabi, the spring broke. Will he hold back on Sunday, June 19, in Montreal? Elements of response with our consultant Franceinfo: sport, Cyril Abiteboul, former director of the Renault team.
After eight races, Hamilton is already 88 points behind Max Verstappen. He is only a small shadow in the rear of the Red Bull when, not so long ago, he rubbed wheel against wheel with the Dutchman. No one is bound to the impossible, however, and all Lewis Hamilton that he is, he could not transform a workhorse into a thoroughbred. The Mercedes version 2022 is badly born, everyone knows it. Not fast enough, difficult to drive and particularly uncomfortable, especially due to recurring problems with porpoising.
Behind this name, which refers to a cetacean and which designates an aerodynamic phenomenon causing a single-seater that jerks a lot, there is the reality of a back that is in pain. That of the Briton, 37 years old but an accomplished athlete, has been subjected to torture since the start of the season. “It was the toughest race of my career,” he whispered in Baku after having had all the difficulty in the world to get out of his seat on arrival. “It’s a fact that Lewis is not comfortable in this car”observes Cyril Abiteboul. “But when you know that Mercedes is pushing hard to change the rules, maybe there is also a certain part of dramatization of the pain…” And to conclude ironically: “At the next race he might get out of his car with a cane.”
All exceptional drivers have experienced seasons when they had to deal with a single-seater that suddenly became less efficient. They then had to fret while working on possible ways of improvement. This is the classic scheme. What is much less, however, is to see these legends being dominated by a new teammate freshly landed in the team. And yet this is what is happening at Mercedes, with the nugget George Russell… Cyril Abiteboul is not, however, one of the surprised.
“I have immense respect for Lewis and for what he has achieved but I don’t find this situation all that surprising.“, begins the ex-director of Renault F1. “He obviously has immense talent but he has also, it must be said, always benefited from the most competitive car on the grid.”
“Lewis has always been a somewhat mystical pilot and today he no longer finds his spiritual path”.
Cyril AbiteboulFrance info: sports
According to Cyril Abiteboul, Hamilton could be caught up in some form of power drain: “He is 37 years old, he has won everything. Today the dynamic is no longer there.” The failure of Abu Dhabi, combined with the emergence of a young wolf in his own sheepfold, would they have misled the Englishman? “I think he is weakened in his energies”analyzes our consultant.
Since he arrived on the circuit, Lewis Hamilton has very often taken the best of his teammates (Alonso or Rosberg), when he has not outclassed them (Bottas). This time, in 2022, the Briton finds himself regularly outdistanced, in qualifying as in the race, by George Russell, a young unknown to the general public. Impermeable to the aura of his partner, the young man sends his birthright upside down and is already 21 points ahead of the man with seven world crowns!
George’s impressive run continues #AzerbaijanGP @MercedesAMGF1 pic.twitter.com/cpdRV3mDly
— Formula 1 (@F1) June 13, 2022
“Hamilton finds himself confronted with a young 24-year-old driver who is doing everything right. He has advanced a little in the shadow of Leclerc but, like him and with a gap of a year, he has won all the categories of youth”, continues Abiteboul. Quietly, therefore, the former pilot Williams is in the process of unbolting the statue of Commander Hamilton. “But beware, tempers the ex-boss of Renault, Lewis has already proven that he possesses extraordinary resilience. Halfway through the season last year, everyone thought he was beaten and he made an impressive comeback, even if the outcome was not happy for him.
Plagued by a recalcitrant Mercedes and a teammate with teeth that scratch the bottom of the tub, the seven-time world champion finds himself in “a totally new equation for him”, according to Cyril Abiteboul. However, the latter affirms that this situation remains to the advantage of the older of the two British pilots: “I’m sure if the Mercedes were more successful it would be even harder for Lewis to keep pace with Russell.”