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Lewis Hamilton in Formula 1: The lion roars again – Sport

If you need a little encouragement in view of the summer heat and the world situation, the best thing to do is to follow Lewis Hamilton’s social media channels. The record world champion in Formula 1, who is competing in the premier class at the French Grand Prix for the 300th time, can replace the mental coach. The Briton went into his anniversary race with the message: “A new week means new opportunities, new challenges – and a new drive.”

At the beginning of the second half of the season, the 37-year-old and his Mercedes are mainly driven by the hope of the first win of the season. This premiere was already expected for Le Castellet this weekend, but a lot would have to happen in the race on Sunday afternoon (from 3 p.m.) for that to happen. “The gap here is enormous, that shouldn’t happen after our latest update,” complains team boss Toto Wolff, “our expectations were a bigger step forward.

For the eighth time this year, Monegasque Charles Leclerc is in pole position with the Ferrari, alongside defending champion Verstappen. This is followed by the second Red Bull Honda with Sergio Perez – and then Lewis Hamilton. Sebastian Vettel was only 14th in the Aston Martin, Mick Schumacher missed a strong qualifying lap and ended up in 17th place. Both Germans should move up a bit due to downgrading of other drivers. Lewis Hamilton has equalized in the internal duel with George Russell, after qualifying successes, the two are now balanced 6:6. “The lion has awakened again,” Wolff praises Hamilton’s qualities, “even if the car isn’t competitive. But he drives as fast as he can.” Sometimes even faster than technology allows.

In the first few months, Hamilton experimented in the service of the team

Hamilton’s perspective has changed significantly since the silver arrow started bouncing at the beginning of the season: Instead of immediately challenging Max Verstappen for revenge for the title lost in the scandal final in Abu Dhabi, the only thing to do at first was to calm the car down. The champion’s ego blended into the team play. The veteran experimented with the team with new vehicle setups and was therefore often defeated in a direct duel with his new teammate George Russell. Age was already cited as a factor, lack of passion – even though the opposite was the case. With the last three third places in a row, Hamilton silenced his critics and, more importantly, found new fun and courage in being a racing driver. He even sees the champion of the future in 24-year-old Russell: “He has the necessary potential and brings all the qualities. It’s a pleasure to work with him. And I hope I can help him develop further. “

Although the second half of the season is traditionally his stronger one, he should only have something to do indirectly with winning the title due to the huge point deficit – 99 points alone on championship leader Verstappen – in which he is between the rivals of Red Bull Racing and Ferrari can drive. His personal streak of always having at least one win in his previous Formula 1 years should not end under any circumstances. The remaining eleven races are mainly test drives for 2023, when Hamilton wants to hunt for his eighth title and the sole record right from the start. He agrees with his team boss Toto Wolff that things are “slowly but surely coming together”. Since Hamilton has been there, Mercedes has not had a winless season either. For the driver it would be the 104th win of his career, 13 more than Michael Schumacher, number two in the all-time best list.

Because of bouncing cars, the Fia calls for changes to the underbody

In principle, the German group racing team had the fastest car in the field a few times, and the scary track in Austria has now lost its terror. After the violent bouncing movements of many racing cars, the world automobile association Fia has announced drastic changes to the underbody that could play into the hands of Mercedes in the future. Ferrari and Red Bull Racing are already up in arms about the supposed preference given to subscription champions. Hamilton has worked with the engineers more than ever this year, he can show completely new qualities, kneels in the work behind the scenes. He’s the big motivator anyway: “Now we have to keep improving to get back to the top.”

With 300 Grand Prix participations, Lewis Hamilton is number six in the Formula 1 endurance rating, this season he should overtake Jenson Button (306) and Michael Schumacher (307). But he is much more moved by the personal negative series of not having finished first place twelve races in a row: “I’m working towards victory and I believe that we will do it again. None of us are giving up and everyone is putting pressure on us .” For Toto Wolff, the returned self-confidence of his parade driver is encouraging: “I’m happy about the momentum that we’re picking up. Now we have to close the gap.”

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