And Hamilton, will he avoid closing his first blank year in F1?

Lewis Hamilton will complete a world tour this Sunday at the Abu Dhabi GP, the scene of handing over his crown to Max Verstappen in 2021.

Thomas Osborne
Thomas Osborne
19 November 2022 Saturday 09:34
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And Hamilton, will he avoid closing his first blank year in F1?

Lewis Hamilton will complete a world tour this Sunday at the Abu Dhabi GP, the scene of handing over his crown to Max Verstappen in 2021. Throughout this year, the English driver has not savored any victory. An unusual event in his long career, in the 16 seasons in the great circus.

The 44, who aspired this year to regain his throne and set the bar for the 8 world titles, will have this Sunday (2:00 p.m., Dazn TV) at the Yas Marina his last chance to avoid finishing the course blank for the first time. Although he has not been among the fastest, nor does he come out ahead, 5th. Pole position, once again, went to Verstappen.

The fall into hell for Mercedes with the change in regulations has taken away the infallibility of Lewis Hamilton, who will close 2022 with very, very discreet results: 5th in the World Cup, almost 200 points behind the champion, 9 podiums in 21 races, and without any pole position or victory. His last victory dates back to Saudi Arabia'21, the penultimate round of last year, which left him with options for a title in the final assault that Verstappen took.

In his entire career, 16 seasons, Hamilton had always achieved at least one win every season. Even in the year of his debut at Mercedes, in 2013, capitalized on by the fight between Vettel's Red Bull and Alonso's Ferrari. That season in which the star's engine had not yet exploited his hybrid potential, the Englishman claimed victory in Hungary.

This year, where he was closest to winning (2nd) was in the previous Interlagos race, which his teammate George Russell signed up for, saving Mercedes from zero and opening the victory. The young neighbor has eaten the veteran champion; he has scored more, has been more constant, and has even set a pole position (Hungary) and four best race laps (1 only Hamilton).

In the Abu Dhabi GP this Sunday that says goodbye to the 2022 season, with nothing already at stake (only the runner-up, between Pérez and Leclerc), Hamilton should cross his fingers so that the front four, the two Red Bulls and the two Ferraris, have a mishap. If not, he will only have gone through Abu Dhabi to pay for Vettel's farewell dinner. From his pocket, the champion paid 162,000 euros in the restaurant of the renowned chef Nusret Gökçe.

The qualifying session was marked by an unusual phenomenon, more common in MotoGP: the riders waiting in the middle of the track, slowing down or practically standing still, to avoid the slipstream of their rivals when looking for the best lap. A dangerous maneuver that Russell and Sebastian Vettel, who is saying goodbye to F1, complained about above all.

"I don't know what that Red Bull is doing, but it's fucking dangerous," Russell complained angrily when he found himself hindered by Checo Pérez's car practically stopped in the middle of the track. He also had to dodge rival Vettels, zig-zags, including Alonso's Alpine. "Three times in a row this guy has bothered me," he complained about Red Bull.

On the time table, Verstappen imposed his dictatorial law to take his seventh pole of the season, 20th of his career in F1. The Red Bulls occupy the first row, with the two Ferraris behind -Sainz was on provisional pole- and the two Mercedes in the third row. Alonso starts 10th in his last race with Alpine (due to Ricciardo's suspension) and Vettel from 9th in his last trip in F1.

1. Max Verstappen (Red Bull)

2. Sergio Perez (Red Bull)

3. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)

4. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari)

5. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)

6. George Russell (Mercedes)

7. Lando Norris (McLaren)

8. Esteban Ocon (Alpine)

9. Sebastian Vettel (Aston Martin)

10. Fernando Alonso (Alpine)

11. Yuki Tsunoda (Alpha Tauri)

12. Mick Schumacher (Haas)

13. Daniel Ricciardo (McLaren)*

14. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)

15. Guanyu Zhou (Alfa Romeo)

16. Kevin Magnussen (Haas)

17. Pierre Gasly (Alpha Tauri)

18. Valtteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo)

19. Alex Albon (Williams)

20. Nicolas Latifi (Williams)

(*) Ricciardo drops 3 positions due to suspension from Brazil