Components 1: Lewis Hamilton dedicated to serving to Mercedes finish hunch

Lewis Hamilton is coming off a crushing defeat for a file eighth Components One championship and on the verge of the primary winless season of his 16-year profession.

His Mercedes has been a beast to drive all season and a flaw in its design created a bouncing impact that causes his tooth to chatter and his again to ache. New teammate George Russell outranks him within the season standings — Russell is fourth, Hamilton is sixth — and a 24-race schedule is looming for subsequent season, when Hamilton will likely be 38 years previous.

Many thought he’d give up the game when he misplaced final 12 months’s F1 championship to Max Verstappen in a controversial series of calls within the December season finale at Abu Dhabi, however he returned for what's going to go down as arguably one of the vital tough seasons for the motive force who holds the F1 file with 103 profession victories.

Now comes phrase that Hamilton has opened talks with Mercedes on a multi-year contract extension on the deal that expires on the finish of subsequent season.

Forward of the Sao Paulo Grand Prix in Brazil, the place earlier this week Hamilton was awarded honorary citizenship, The Related Press requested Hamilton why he desires to proceed to race into his 40s and why he didn’t give up F1 following the injustice he believes he was dealt final 12 months in Abu Dhabi.

He used an analogy of a uncommon break day he had final week to clarify how he’s wired. He’d traveled to Kelly Slater’s Surf Ranch in Lemoore, California, the place Hamilton spent eight hours within the wave pool.

“I used to be within the pool the entire time, and I fall and I stumble off of a wave and I get again up and attempt to do it once more. And I proceed to do this, and that’s simply one thing in my DNA,” Hamilton informed the AP. “I like this sport. I like racing. I'd have undoubtedly stated on the finish of final 12 months that I misplaced a little bit of the love for it, as a result of as you understand, it was tough.

“However I simply refuse to let that second be a deciding think about my life and my profession. And I nonetheless really feel match and centered and there’s no stopping. ? We need to get quantity eight.”

It gained’t be this season as Verstappen clinched a second consecutive F1 title final month, and regardless of the progress Mercedes has made in bettering its automotive this 12 months, the workforce nonetheless can’t problem Crimson Bull on velocity for wins. Verstappen, in the meantime, has gained a file 14 occasions this season and heads to Interlagos hoping to increase Crimson Bull’s profitable streak to 9 consecutive races.

Hamilton, nonetheless, is coming off consecutive consecutive runner-up finishes to Verstappen which have buoyed Mercedes.

“Although we’ve had essentially the most tough 12 months this 12 months, I really feel that we've got climbed mountains collectively as a workforce,” Hamilton informed AP. “It’s been one of the vital stunning experiences to see everybody working so laborious. And you understand, we simply had two seconds in a row and that appears like wins for us.”

Hamilton final November gained in Brazil to start out a three-race profitable streak that despatched him into the Abu Dhabi finale tied with Verstappen for the championship. Hamilton dominated your entire race till a late warning scrambled the end and the since-fired race director broke from protocol in his rulings.

It allowed Verstappen to move Hamilton for the win and the championship, and Hamilton vanished from public view instantly after the race. He informed the AP that two month interval after Abu Dhabi was the toughest he’s ever needed to work on his psychological well being.

“It was one of many hardest occasions of my profession, for positive I struggled,” Hamilton informed the AP, explaining how he surrounded himself with fast household, put down his telephone, and prevented social media and all information. He additionally went to the seaside together with his niece and nephew and allow them to bury him within the sand.

“So I stand up each day and deal with being current and taking advantage of the time that I had and creating reminiscences. It was to maintain myself in a cheerful place and never deal with racing.”

Hamilton has not gained since that three-race streak forward of Abu Dhabi, which wasn’t actually what he anticipated when he re-emerged on the finish of January to start preparations for 2022. Mercedes wasn’t conscious it had taken a incorrect flip within the improvement of its automotive and would want your entire season to undo the harm.

“You simply pivot. As an alternative of how can we get on high of this automotive and struggle for the championship, it was ‘OK, we’re almost certainly not going to be preventing for the championship, so how do I steer this ship that’s going within the incorrect path? How do I maintain this workforce motivated?’” defined Hamilton. “We have now dug deeper and develop into a stronger, extra full workforce. So I do know that once we construct the automotive that I dream of, subsequent 12 months, I do know as a workforce we're extra strong and have a greater basis than ever earlier than.”

That Hamilton isn’t planning to retire anytime quickly isn't a shock to Russell, who has discovered his fellow Englishman to be the consummate skilled and teammate. Russell stated Hamilton is devoted to turning Mercedes round.

“He’s undoubtedly not lifted his foot off the throttle pedal, and he’s undoubtedly the previous few races performing in all probability higher than ever,” Russell stated. “For me to have the chance to be his teammate, to go instantly head-to-head with him and develop on this journey that we’re on collectively, as a result of it actually does really feel like a journey that the 2 of us are on, together with the remainder of the workforce, in making an attempt to convey Mercedes again to profitable methods.

“I believe we’ve received a very, actually nice relationship, clear relationship and yeah, be nice to be teammates for a variety of years to return.”