'Psychological problem' for Hamilton: 'He knows that too'

Lewis Hamilton finished 13th at the Imola Grand Prix, which is not where he has been used to driving in recent years. According to Gerhard Berger, it will be very tough mentally for Hamilton to turn this around yet.

Hamilton was so close to a unique record in 2021. He was one lap away from his eighth world title in Formula One, but a safety car for Nicholas Latifi's crash and the fact that Max Verstappen was on fresh tyres kill his chances of the title. The Briton had hoped to strike back in 2022, but that is not possible with the W13.

Disappointment for Berger

Berger said to ServusTV's Sport und Talk that he sees that Hamilton was super motivated to win his eighth world title, but now Lewis sees that he's not going to make it in 2022. His goal is to become the most successful Formula One driver of all time, but that will be pretty difficult this season.

''Psychologically this will be the biggest problem for Hamilton. He wants to be calm and work on development, but he also sees his chances fading. If Mercedes doesn't build a top car in the next two years, then his dream is over. He knows that and that must be a big disappointment,'' the Austrian concluded.