Ten years on from Mercedes debut is Hamilton's time up at the team?

04/01/2023

Lewis Hamilton arrives in Australia a decade on from his Mercedes debut in Melbourne – which led to nearly TEN YEARS of dominance – but with his chances of winning at Albert Park still looking remote, is his time at the Silver Arrows up?

Lewis Hamilton heads into Australian Grand Prix marking 10 years at Mercedes
But despite qualifying in top three, he still looks unable to challenge Verstappen
Hamilton has had plenty of highs and lows but his next winning high is unknown

It seems incredible that a decade on from Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes debut he is just about in the same place as where he started with the team.

And that is going into the race weekend knowing that chances of victory are a long shot at best.

Granted it’s in different circumstances, Hamilton is now in the second year of a fallow period at the Silver Arrows who once again look to have underwhelmed over the winter by being unable to build a car capable of winning the world championship. His placings of fifth in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia the early evidence of that.

It’s a bit different to when Hamilton first rocked up at a team who were still looking for a way to the top following an unsuccessful three years with Michael Schumacher behind the wheel.

After switching from McLaren to Mercedes at the start of 2013, it would be fair to say that while talks of winning future world championships were not the stuff of fantasy, the six that followed up to and including 2020 were beyond everyone’s wildest estimations – perhaps even the Brit’s.

Lewis Hamilton’s decade at Mercedes has seen him add six to his total of seven world titles

But the Brit looks further away than ever from adding to that, with Mercedes now off the pace

Hamilton has not won a race since 2021 as his team continue to struggle for competitiveness

That is no reflection on his overall outstanding ability or even on his own self confidence but just the way Mercedes put a stranglehold on the sport over an unprecedented length of time.

Aside from his first season, where Mercedes were still finding their feet, only in 2016 during a bitter title loss to Nico Rosberg was Hamilton denied the title right up until the last lap of the long fabled and controversial finale of the season ending 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix when Max Verstappen wrestled away the crown.

The Dutchman, though, has looked unbeatable since, and Hamilton hasn’t even been able to win a race .

That brings us back to the present day and, on a weekend when Hamilton should be looking back at a wonderful decade at Mercedes, he can be forgiven for now thinking what has gone wrong around him.

Now admittedly Australia has never been a happy hunting ground for him and good memories of Albert Park are curiously few. Hamilton has always been strong around Melbourne on flat out performance but he has only won once at the track with Mercedes back in 2015.

Qualifying third behind the dominant Red Bulls his Mercedes debut ended with a disappointing fifth place finish, while after taking an equally dominant pole a year later he would retire from the race early with an engine failure on the second lap.

Mercedes were in a similar position when the seven-time champion made his debut for the team back in 2013 – where he finished fifth in Australia having qualified inside the top three

Mercedes’ domination started a year later but despite taking pole, Hamilton (right) broke down on the second lap allowing his team-mate and championship rival Nico Rosberg to take the win

Hamilton is pictured celebrating his only Australian Grand Prix win for Mercedes back in 2015

One year on and Rosberg again took advantage after beating Hamilton in a one-two finish

Sebastian Vettel was as a title challenger for Ferrari in 2017 and beat Hamilton at Albert Park

The German then defeated the Brit again a year later after getting ahead via a virtual safety car

Valtteri Bottas took a surprise victory ahead of Hamilton in 2019 – seen in the lead at turn one

Hamilton again finished behind his team-mate George Russell when the race returned in 2022

In 2016 he lost out to Rosberg in the battle for victory while the next two years saw him beaten by the Ferrari of Sebastian Vettel – the latter as a result of Ferrari one-upping Mercedes on strategy under the virtual safety car.

LEWIS HAMILTON RECORD IN AUSTRALIA

Races: 14

Wins: 2

Pole positions: 8

Podiums: 9

Fastest laps: 1

Valtteri Bottas took a surprise win ahead of his Mercedes team-mate Hamilton in 2019, and following the Covid outbreak the race did not return until last year when Hamilton closely followed team-mate George Russell home – with his British compatriot beating him to the final podium spot.

So just one win for Mercedes and his 2008 victory for McLaren come in as his only triumphs in Melbourne – yet his nine podiums and eight poles make those lack of wins a curious anomaly.

But even if he is on form this weekend, what’s the best Hamilton can really hope for?

Red Bull seem in a league of their own at this early stage of the season, and Fernando Alonso’s Aston Martin could be too hot to handle in race trim despite qualifying ahead of him on Saturday.

Ferrari is a realistic fight but you wouldn’t be surprised to see Hamilton finish below both if the Italian team can maximise their potential at a track they won at in dominating fashion with Charles Leclerc last term.

Hamilton will have a hard task of eclipsing both Red Bulls and Fernando Alonso in Australia

Hamilton’s last world championship came in 2020 in what has been a near decade of success

Team boss Toto Wolff and the Brit have enjoyed an excellent relationship but Hamilton will now be desperate to find a drive that can at least help him battle for an eighth world championship

And then there is the sister Mercedes of George Russell that has the edge on him in the championship following the first two races – and in qualifying this weekend.

So Hamilton’s best hope is reliability issues up front handing him a podium while a worst case scenario could have him as low down as seventh – if Sergio Perez can lead a charge from low down the field.

No world champion wants to be competing for crumbs like that, not least a seven-time title winner, and with Mercedes not looking likely to fix their current issues anytime soon where does Hamilton go from here?

Fittingly his contract is up at the end of the season, yet bizarrely his options are limited. Red Bull will be a no-go zone as long as Verstappen is in town.

Aston Martin are unlikely to disrupt what is looking like a promising pairing of Alonso and Lance Stroll and that just leaves Ferrari.

Despite contract difficulties, his best option is an outside shot of landing a Ferrari seat in 2024

Both Charles Leclerc (left) and Carlos Sainz (right) have options to drive for Ferrari in 2024

That’s a Ferrari who have Leclerc and Carlos Sainz both signed up for next year. Yet stranger things have happened than the possibility of seeing Hamilton behind the wheel of a Prancing Horse next season.

Room could be made to crowbar in Hamilton as Leclerc’s team-mate, or there could be a curious swap that sees the Brit and Leclerc effectively swap seats.

The final option of a career break or a flat out retirement looks to be off the table. Motivation isn’t a problem for Hamilton – he will do all he can to win a record eighth world championship.

But just like the Australian Grand Prix this weekend and 10 years ago before his Merc debut – it’s hard to see where the next win is coming from.

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