In sports, they often say that winning is a habit. Then how long do you think a man like Lewis Hamilton can stay non-competitive? The controversial loss to Max Verstappen in the season finale in 2021, which FIA later dubbed a “human error” was already a slap in the face. Then came the worst season of his F1 career where he failed to register a race win. And finally, the 2023 season opener in Bahrain saw him fall further down the pecking order, while Fernando Alonso displayed the first signs of resurgence. The Briton is in no mood to continue this way anymore. He recently fired a warning shot at the rest of the grid, giving a hint of what’s to come.

Hamilton and Alonso fought fiercely at the Bahrain GP. Things heated up when the race progressed to Lap 37 when the Spaniard set the fastest lap and tailed his old nemesis for P5. Momentarily, Fernando got ahead but Lewis took back the position in Turn 4. In the next lap, however, the Mercedes driver could not show much resistance and finally had to concede. The complete battle sent fans down memory lane, reminding them of their duels from 2007. The loss, however, has proven to be the last straw for Lewis.

During the pre-race press conference in Jeddah, he said, “I will definitely win again in F1, it just needs time. After 2021, of course, I would have expected to fight for the world championship again sooner, but we all make in our lives things that we don’t expect. It’s then how you react and how you fight yourself back. You have to stay positive and deal with the problems. That’s where my energy is going completely at the moment and that’s where the energy of everyone on the team is going too.” [Translated using Google]

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For any chance to reach the top, the 7x champion will require his entire team’s effort. Realizing that, he regretted openly criticizing them after the last race.

Lewis Hamilton feels his criticism of Mercedes was too harsh

Despite underperforming throughout the season last year, Hamilton thanked his team on the radio post-race, no matter what the result. He continued that tradition this year after securing P5 in Bahrain as well. However, in a post-race interview, he revealed that his opinion wasn’t taken seriously last year while developing the car. The comments spread like wildfire, giving rise to a number of rumors about his possible departure from the team at the end of the year when his contract ends.

Putting an end to all those speculations, he told, “Looking back now, that was an unfortunate choice of words on my part. But of course it can happen that you disagree with certain team members. The most important thing is that we keep communicating and that we keep working together.”

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After an abrasive surface in Bahrain, we move to the smoother Jeddah circuit. Many believe the track will favor Mercedes for its low tire degradation quality. It will be interesting to see if Hamilton & Co can make the most of this opportunity.