Hamilton fires warning to F1 rivals: “I will win again”
For the first time ever, Hamilton went through an entire season without a grand prix victory or pole position to his name.
In F1 2023, it could be another dry year for the seven-time world champion with Mercedes failing to make any significant progress over the winter.
In the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix, Hamilton finished a distant fifth, while Mercedes teammate George Russell only managed seventh.
Speaking ahead of this weekend’s F1 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, Hamilton - who won the inaugural race in Jeddah in 2021 - is adamant he will add to his 103 tally of wins in F1.
“I will win again. It’s just going to take some time. Of course, in 2021 when we were here, we were hoping to be fighting for another world championship,” Hamilton said.
“You never know what’s up ahead. There will be things that happen in all of our lives that we least expect, but it’s not how you fall, it’s how you get up, it’s how you deal with it, it’s how you show up…
“It’s how you continue to remain positive and tackle the issues you are faced with – that’s where my energy is going into and that’s what every single person in the team is focused on.”
One record Hamilton will be keen to beat is winning a grand prix once hitting 300 starts in F1.
All of the drivers who have over at least 300 starts to their name - Fernando Alonso, Kimi Raikkonen, Rubens Barrichello, Michael Schumacher, Jenson Button and now Hamilton, failed to win a race when they broke into the 300-race mark.
Hamilton has started 311 grands prix, winning 103 of them, standing on the podium a whopping 191 times.
His last win came in Saudi Arabia, defeating Max Verstappen in a titanic scrap.
