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Hamilton celebrates 38th birthday: Is the hunger still there?

Hamilton celebrates 38th birthday: Is the hunger still there?

07-01-2023 07:00
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Lewis Hamilton turns 38 today [Saturday] and could be about to enter his final Formula 1 season. The Brit's current two-year contract at Mercedes will expire on the 26th of November when the checkered flag drops to end the 2023 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Hamilton has shown serious intentions to sign an extension but, given the stage of his career, there are always going to be question marks. Here are five reasons why Hamilton will want to stay in the sport beyond 2023. 

Teammate battle 

After spending 100 Grands Prix alongside Valtteri Bottas, George Russell burst onto the scene at Mercedes in 2022 as Hamilton's teammate. An up-and-coming young driver who is being prepared by Mercedes to take the reigns once Hamilton retires. The seven-time World Champion is relishing this little inter-team duel and will become more meaningful if Mercedes deliver a competitive car. 

Russell got the upper hand over Hamilton in the 2022 World Championship. He was also able to deliver a pole position and race win. There's a suggestion and argument that Hamilton was testing new parts to solve the porpoising issues in the early stages of 2022. There were also some safety cars and strategic decisions that helped Russell, as well as crashes that hindered Hamilton. Though fingers could be pointed at the drivers on some of those latter examples. 

Russell may have won the first teammate duel, but the overall battle isn't over yet. Knowing the fighting spirit inside, he will be desperate to prove his worth against Russell in 2023 and beyond. 

Mercedes comeback 

After losing the 2021 World Championship on the last lap of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the 2022 Mercedes car was meant to give Hamilton the record eighth world title. As it happened, Mercedes were miles behind Red Bull and Ferrari. Sometimes they even struggled in the midfield with Hamilton missing out on Q2 in Saudi Arabia. 

Mercedes have been working hard to progress back up the grid. During interviews, it's clear Hamilton is so embedded into the new project that he'll want to reach the finish line. Is it likely that Mercedes win the championship in 2023? Probably not given how far Red Bull and Max Verstappen were ahead in the last six months. They also have to overcome a rediscovered Ferrari team. The effect of the Red Bull wind tunnel reduction probably doesn't have much of an effect until the second half of 2023 at least. 

There's a genuine passion and hunger to get back on top when Hamilton talks about the "guys and girls" in the factory. Therefore providing Hamilton with extra motivation to stay in the car. 

Verstappen rivalry 

We're lucky in this era of Formula 1 to have two greats going at it from different generations. Everyone wondered whether we saw the end of the drama between Hamilton and Verstappen but the incident in Brazil reminded us that it's far from finished. That collision proved they still don't give each other an inch. Despite no championship up for grabs, the strong egos ensured that the duel stayed spicy. 

So much water has travelled under the bridge, and most of it has travelled in the direction of Verstappen. Hamilton doesn't blame Verstappen for what happened in Abu Dhabi, and nor should he. But what happened hurt Hamilton and he'd love to get one back over the Dutchman. At 38, we usually start to question the fuel and hunger a sportsperson has. There's no need to when this rivalry is bubbling along nicely. 

Alonso and Raikkonen

As a sportsperson heads towards their 40s, we often question their physicality levels. There should be no doubt about this given what Kimi Raikkonen did in recent years, and what Fernando Alonso is still doing today. At 41, Alonso completed one of his best seasons and would've achieved much more without Alpine's poor reliability. Alonso has three-and-a-half years on Hamilton and is reportedly on a multi-year deal at Aston Martin.

Hamilton has had duels with both of these drivers, though perhaps more famously with Alonso. Hamilton has proven that he is great in more or less every department in Formula 1, but super longevity remains something he has yet to achieve. 

He's still got it 

Before contemplating signing a new contract first, he must receive an offer. The 38-year-old is still performing at the highest level and Mercedes won't have to think long about it. A few mistakes have slipped into Hamilton's driving over the last two seasons, but he is still more than capable of overachieving. His race pace in 2022 was often one of the strongest and he still nursed home strong results despite carrying damage. His P2 in Brazil is the greatest of examples.