Mercedes F1’s Lewis Hamilton has joked that Max Verstappen’s car number 1 is ‘uncool’ as he looks back on a difficult 2022 season.
2022 was never the season Mercedes F1 wanted, but it certainly ended the season on a positive note.
Earlier this year, Mercedes F1’s new-generation car struggled to keep up with Red Bull and Ferrari after suffering poaching/bouncing issues, but Lewis Hamilton and George Russell are expected to compete regularly at the top in the second half of the season. can. It’s clear that the team has taken steps to fix the problems they were struggling with early on.
Still, Lewis Hamilton ended up dropping a special record. For the first time since he joined F1 in 2007, he failed to win a single season. But in Hamilton’s own words, it didn’t matter too much to him.
“Verstappen’s number 1 is big and ugly. It’s as big as you can put it!” laughed Lewis Hamilton in an interview with Channel 4.
“Well, it’s just a joke. I don’t care about this stuff. A lot of people say something and expect a reaction from me, but I’m cool about it. It doesn’t really matter.”
“Obviously I wanted to fight at the front and compete with Red Bull, but this year has been a great adventure.”
Since 2014, F1 drivers have had fixed car numbers, and Lewis Hamilton had a chance to get car number 1, but except for the one-time free practice of the 2018 F1 Abu Dhabi GP, He wore his own car number, 44.
“44 is a special number for me,” said Lewis Hamilton after free practice at the 2018 F1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
“But people who are involved with my car are also traveling and when they see the number 44 on buses and flight numbers, they say it’s becoming like a part of their lives. I’m very happy and it’s true for me.”
“Every year I start with a blank slate and feel like no one has a champion. I want to be a champion.”
Max Verstappen, who won the F1 World Champion for the second time in a row, will continue to be car number 1 in 2023.
Category: F1 / Lewis Hamilton / mercedes / Max Verstappen