Lewis Hamilton says it would be ‘pretty amazing’ to see the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team overhaul Scuderia Ferrari and finish second in the Constructors’ Championship in 2022.
Hamilton is going through his longest winless run of his FIA Formula 1 World Championship career and could go through a full season without tasting victory for the first time, but he has finished second in the past two races in the United States and Mexico City.
Forty points separate Mercedes from second placed Ferrari with two rounds to go, including this weekend’s sprint race in São Paulo, and although Hamilton knows it is a longshot that they can overtake them, he knows it would be great for everyone within the team for it to happen.
“I know how important it is for the team and everyone back at the factory in terms of bonuses,” Hamilton is quoted as saying by Motorsport.com. “Especially in a time when energy prices have gone through the roof, living costs in the UK have skyrocketed.
“So I know because I’m told and I can see how important and impactful that is for them, and also just how hard we’ve dug deep to catch up.
“I know it would be an amazing feeling if we could. If you then look at being realistic, Ferrari have had an amazing car most of the year, I don’t know what happened last weekend, but most likely they’re going to be back at the front this weekend, but who knows? So it’s no easy feat to beat them.
“But if we did, I think it would be pretty amazing comeback, and that narrative also it’s sending them into the winter knowing that we mean business.”
Hamilton believes this weekend’s race in Brazil will offer Mercedes the best chance of taking their first victory of the season, but what he would like to do across this weekend and the next race in Abu Dhabi is maximise his result, regardless of the final finishing position.
“My focus is maximising the next two races,” Hamilton said. “I think us as a team are focused on making sure that we have a car that we can compete with next year. We don’t know, honestly every time that we arrive at a track, we’re surprised one way or another how big the gap is or how close we are.
“So I won’t know until [Friday] where that is. I don’t know if the car will be spectacular here. I don’t know if we’ll be as close as we were at the last race, I don’t think we will. But I hope I’m surprised and it’s not the case.
“But we know where our car is going to work and what corners it won’t work. I anticipate it’s not going to be the easiest on track. But there’s weather, there’s all sorts that could come into it.
“So out of the next two races, this is the best option we’ll have or the closest we’ll be. The next one I think with those long straights will be tough.”