The Mexican Grand Prix is now in the books, and for Lewis Hamilton, it was yet another disappointment. The seven-time world champion has struggled since moving to Ferrari at the start of the year, not managing a single podium finish in his new colors. It looked like he would have the perfect opportunity to right that wrong in Mexico City, starting third on the grid behind pole sitter Lando Norris and teammate Charles Leclerc.
Once again, however, everything that could go wrong did go wrong. Hamilton was unable to make an impression at the start, having a chaotic run to the first corner alongside Leclerc and fourth-place Max Verstappen. Just a few laps later, Super Max and Hamilton would reignite their rivalry from 2021, with Verstappen overtaking his British adversary, who was forced to cut the corner at turn five. The stewards rewarded Hamilton with a ten-second penalty, despite the fact that Verstappen himself left the track just one corner prior and wasn’t punished for his troubles.
In the end, that time deficit proved too much of an obstacle to overcome. Hamilton slumped to eighth place, once again watching on from afar as teammate Leclerc shone. But in the end, this race wasn’t about either Ferrari man; it was about Lando Norris.
Lando Norris bettors: https://t.co/KI8pzEhXI9
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Norris Claims the Championship Lead
The McLaren superstar has been playing catch-up to his young Australian rival Oscar Piastri all season long. However, his dominant victory in Mexico, coupled with the Aussie’s fifth-place finish, has catapulted Norris into the championship lead. Now, online betting sites make the 25-year-old the favorite to secure his maiden world drivers’ championship. The popular Bovada betting site currently has Norris listed as the odds-on 5/6 frontrunner, with Piastri just behind at 5/2, while Verstappen is 9/2.
But back at Maranello, with just four races remaining, Hamilton is now staring down the barrel of a first podium-less season in his spectacular 18-year career. But how has he finished his last three seasons? And is there any hope that he can somehow sneak his way into third or better before the year is out? Let’s take a look.
Hamilton Rallies in 2022
After years of dominating Formula One, Lewis Hamilton found himself in the unusual position of a championship afterthought in 2022. With Mercedes’ porpoising issues leaving their seven-time world champion out of title contention, Hamilton was on the outside looking in, powerless to resist as Verstappen claimed a second straight world championship. The year was a painful one for the Brit, but he managed to rally throughout the last four races to end the season on a high.
Throughout the last four races that year, Hamilton reeled off three successive second-place finishes. He was heartbreakingly overtaken late in Austin as Verstappen claimed victory. Meanwhile, in Sao Paulo, the Dutchman cost his long-time rival dearly once again with a collision at the first corner. That ultimately cost Hamilton victory, as he would finish just one second behind teammate George Russell.
While the string of second-place finishes was an improvement on the rest of the campaign, 2022 was still a major disappointment for Hamilton. The season marked the first time that he had not won a single race throughout the entirety of the year, a barren spell that would stretch until the middle of 2024.
2023’s End Of Year Collapse
Throughout 2023, Hamilton was a mainstay on the podium. He secured top-three berths in Melbourne, Barcelona, Montreal, Silverstone, and Singapore, while another would follow in the fourth-last race of the year in Mexico. Such exploits catapulted Mercedes’ main man to third place in the championship standings, winner of the “best of the rest” title behind the rocketships of Verstappen and teammate Sergio Perez’s Red Bulls.
But while there was plenty to shout about throughout the majority of the season, the last three races were arguably Hamilton’s worst all year. Tire struggles saw him slump to eighth place in Brazil, while a disappointing qualifying in Las Vegas brought seventh place. In Abu Dhabi, further pain was afoot, and Hamilton had to settle for ninth. Such a run of finishes in 2025 could see questions arise as to the Brit’s future with the Scuderia.
Second Place in Las Vegas
The 2024 campaign was Hamilton’s last for Mercedes, but he still managed to return to winning ways. He picked up back-to-back victories in Great Britain and Belgium to snap a scarcely believable two and a half year drought, and it looked as though he would add to those victories with a spectacular recovery drive in Las Vegas. Unfortunately, however, he would ultimately come up short as teammate George Russell clung on to the win, and that was as good as it would get throughout the run-in.
Tenth place in Sao Paulo and a disastrous 12th in Qatar looked to dim the shine of Hamilton’s final year with the Silver Arrows, but at least he secured fourth in Abu Dhabi to end his Mercedes tenure on a positive note. Will he be able to do the same one year on for Ferrari? We’re about to find out.
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