After losing his crown in the most dramatic fashion to conclude the 2021 campaign, Lewis Hamilton opted to have one more crack at the World Drivers’ Championship. Onlookers who wanted the legendary British driver to bow out on a relative high have watched as he and Mercedes have struggled with the hot shots of Ferrari and Red Bull this season.
Still, this is Lewis Hamilton, and Mercedes remains a world-class team with a near-bottomless bank balance. With over half of the campaign left, there is time for the German manufacturer to fix the flaws of its car and, at the very least, for the Brit to throw a spanner in the works of Red Bull or potentially a late challenge from Ferrari.
Free bets at the ready for Hamilton’s last hurrah
Hamilton is one of the most popular sportspeople in the UK and a hot favorite among bettors. So, there’s no doubt that punters will be looking at the Bet £10, Get £30 free bets bonus as a chance to capitalize on a potential late grab at glory from the Brit. The odds are clearly against him in the Drivers’ Championship, out at 66/1, but coming to Silverstone, he was fourth-favorite at 11/1, so he’s still being given a fair shake.
At the time of writing, 13 races remained on the calendar for the joint-record seven-time champion to get to the top of the podium. Mercedes know how their championship race is run by now, and both of their British racers understand that small successes are what’s needed in this rebuilding season.
Improvements should be on the way, though, with Toto Wolff claiming that the porpoising issue has been solved and that it’s just the “stiffness” left to fix. With the car being so low, uneven tracks have posed a particular problem for Mercedes. If gains have been made to resolve this, with perhaps a few more races needed to iron out the issue, Hamilton may start to be considered a podium threat down the calendar.
One race stands out for Hamilton’s first-place hopes
Even though the British Grand Prix has become a fortress for Hamilton and Mercedes, with him winning seven of the last eight at Silverstone, it simply doesn’t look to be on the cards approaching the race weekend. Red Bull and Ferrari are simply too far ahead of Mercedes. Hamilton is certainly superb around the track, but without some serious mistakes from the frontrunners, he doesn’t look to have enough in the W13.
Still, with 13 races left – including Silverstone – there’s plenty of time for Mercedes to get its act together. At the remaining races since 2014 (British, Austrian, French, Hungarian, Belgian, Dutch, Italian, Singapore, Japanese, US, Mexican, São Paolo, and Abu Dhabi), Hamilton has won 48.8 percent of the races put on, or 41 of 84.
His best win rates over the last eight years at these meets are at the British GP (7/8), French GP (2/3), Hungarian GP (4/8), Italian (4/8), Singapore GP (3/6), Japanese GP (4/6), US GP (4/7), and Abu Dhabi (4/8). However, he only won at two of the 11 of these hosted last season: Silverstone and Interlagos.
In 2021, the would-be champion snagged wins at seven of them, Japan and Singapore didn’t take place, and Daniel Ricciardo and Esteban Ocon claimed the Italian and Hungarian top spots, respectively. Given that it’s the penultimate race of the season, that he won there last year, and has a fair 42.9 percent win rate since 2014, São Paolo looks to be the more favorable track for Hamilton to claim a big win in 2022.
Of course, Mercedes certainly isn’t the dominant force that it had been since Hamilton’s second season with the team, but he’s still one of the most talented drivers on the track and knows most of the remaining venues better than any competitor on the grid. So, don’t count out a last hurrah atop the podium just yet.
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