A big share of followers nonetheless consider can win a record-breaking eighth Drivers' Championship this season, regardless of 's present benefit over . The Silver Arrows are nicely adrift of their rivals this season simply as they had been final yr.
In 2022, the primary season in his total profession, Hamilton did not win a single race. That got here a yr after he claimed eight race wins and missed out on the title by a mere eight factors to .
The controversial nature during which the Dutchman received his first championship two years in the past in Abu Dhabi nonetheless rankles. And the Mercedes driver undoubtedly nonetheless harbours ambitions of successful an eighth crown.
That will take him above Ferrari icon Michael Schumacher, with whom he's presently tied on seven triumphs. However Hamilton is once more set to face a battle to win races this season and has already dominated himself out of the title struggle.
No matter Verstappen and Pink Bull's huge benefit presently, F1 followers are nonetheless not utterly giving up on Hamilton's possibilities. In Categorical Sport's newest ballot, 47 per cent of readers stated the 38-year-old can nonetheless win an eighth title.
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In the meantime, 53 per cent argued in contrast that 2021 was Hamilton's final nice shot at an eighth success. The ballot comes at a time the place a petition handy Verstappen's 2021 crown to Hamilton has reached over 100,000 signatures.
What's for sure is that it appears this yr won't be the yr that the seven-time world champion provides to his tally of titles. Nonetheless, after Hamilton completed P2 in Australia earlier than the break, the Silver Arrows' technical director James Allison did say the workforce are extra optimistic about their automotive.
Certainly, the Brackley-based outfit now consider that their package deal is the second finest on the grid. He stated: "General, [there is] a way of quiet satisfaction that we have now moved the automotive ahead.
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"That, from a efficiency perspective, we most likely bought as a lot because it is ready to give proper now. We did not have large breakthroughs, however we moved ahead just a little bit.
"We put a small quantity on the leaders Pink Bull, and we're beginning to get on phrases with, and perhaps simply nostril a whisker in entrance of, the Ferraris and the Aston Martins. When you have a look at the relative tempo of our automotive to the Ferrari, our automotive to the Aston Martin, it has been close-ish all yr.
"We anticipated to be within the struggle with Ferrari and Aston Martin and we're happy to have our noses in entrance, however we did anticipate to be there. Time will inform [whether performance was track specific]. We’ll go to some extra very totally different tracks within the subsequent few weeks.
"We’ll see whether or not this was the form of preliminary bellwether of basic uptick in our efficiency which we hope for, or whether or not it was associated to the fairly uncommon monitor situations that we noticed this weekend in Melbourne."