No frustration visible from Hamilton: 'That's impressive to see'

Damon Hill believes that Lewis Hamilton should not yet be blotted out as a title contender in 2022. According to the 1996 world champion, his compatriot is calm and works hard with his team to achieve the goal.

Mistake design by Mercedes

For Hamilton and Mercedes, times are tough at the start of 2022. At the end of 2021, they missed out on the world title at the final round of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, which would have allowed Hamilton to break Michael Schumacher's record. Now Lewis is still tied with seven world titles and must hunt again.

However, that will prove a lot harder in 2022, as Mercedes' W13 is not as top-notch a car as its predecessors. Hill has no doubt that Mercedes can solve this in time, but the question is whether the wrong choice was made. For example, Mercedes could be in huge trouble if they can't get the radical design to work.

Hamilton is calm

However, Hill does not see any frustration on Hamilton's part. ''If he [Lewis] is frustrated, he is showing little signs of that. I think he shows disappointment and concern because he wants to win. But I think he has the comfort of having seven titles in the bank. But it's no comfort when you came that close to making it 8 and becoming the undisputed winningness driver of all time,'' Hill says at Sky Sports.

''I don't see why not[he can't win it]. I think it is a long shot, and the betting odds are low on him so it might be worth a tipple. This will be a long old battle, we won't remember these races by the time 'were halfway through. It's going to be a slog, 23 Grands Prix. We have a battle at the front, we don't have a dominant team so it's unlikely they'll get far ahead. It's highly likely Mercedes could get in the mix,'' the former F1 driver concludes.