F1 Generations, page 20
‘All incredible people who’ve supported me since I was 13. To then have this just incredible journey with them, every race powered by Mercedes.
‘Collectively as a team, we didn’t have the pace of the lead cars . . . but this is an incredible result for us, for George and I to be here. This is progress.’
Also, to his credit, Hamilton spent much of the season helping the engineers as they tried to fine-tune the W13 car. Early in 2022, Mercedes admitted that he often ran radical set-ups to help the engineers understand the W13’s problems. It meant he sometimes sacrificed his own performance in practice or even races, while Russell ran on a more stable set-up.
In Saudi Arabia, for example, Hamilton’s experimental set-ups backfired, leaving him further down the starting grid than Russell. He had exited after the first round of qualifying because of his experiments – the first time he’d done so since 2017.
He admitted his ‘errors’ when speaking to Sky Sports F1: ‘I don’t know how different the cars are set up, but the car was undriveable with the set-up I chose. But it’s my own fault; I made some set-up changes. I don’t know if that was everything to do with it, but it was very unstable. I don’t know what I’m going to be able to do tomorrow, but I’m a long way back. I just apologised to my team. Everyone works so hard and when you don’t deliver for them, it’s gutting.’
A further ignominy was that the record books would show 2022 to be just the third time in 16 seasons that Lewis had been beaten by a teammate. George Russell joined a list that included Jenson Button (2011 at McLaren) and Nico Rosberg (2016 at Mercedes).
Disappointing as it was, both Hamilton and Russell outscored Norris that season – by almost double, or more, his total points. Lando, like Lewis, had suffered because the car wasn’t up to the job. But the intriguing f1mathematicalmodel.com/site, which rates drivers over the season, considering metrics such as age and relative experience, as well as points gained, found Lando’s season wasn’t bad at all, everything taken into account. He finished high up on the scale, fourth, with this summary to explain why: ‘Lando Norris is not only very highly rated by the model but also one of the most consistent drivers on the grid. Only fellow Brit and prodigy, George Russell, scored closer to his personal maximum in 2022. Norris does, however, beat out Russell on pace and is projected to have the higher ceiling. The most impressive thing about Lando is still his reliability, even in the face of his undeniable speed.
‘Since his rookie season he has been becoming uncharacteristically spotless for a young driver. He halved his deficit with every season, so far. If this trend holds true, he will end the 2023 season with a deficit of around 0.8, putting him at 86.7.’
In comparison, George finished sixth and Lewis fifth within the intriguing system – so maybe it wasn’t as bad a campaign as it seemed when analysing traditional stats and outcomes for the trio.
No matter. It’s fair to say that all three Brits were weary and needed a good relaxing break at the end of the season. And they were all hoping promised improvements to their cars would pay dividends as 2023 dawned.
The question on most F1 pundits’ lips as the new season began in Bahrain in the March of that year was simple: could Lewis Hamilton ever reclaim his perch at the top, or were we now in the unstoppable Verstappen era? The inevitable second question followed. If Mercedes couldn’t provide him with a car to seriously challenge Max, would he finally, seriously, consider a move to Ferrari, which he had long admitted was his dream move?
There was clearly much at stake as they lined up on the grid on 5 March in the desert heat. Unfortunately, any optimism would drain away during the campaign as it turned out to be the second successive season Hamilton would not record a single win.
However, he did make the podium on six occasions. He finished runner-up in Australia, Spain and the USA – and third in Canada, Britain and Mexico. Lewis also grabbed pole in Hungary. The results meant he would end the season in third in the Drivers’ Championship, with 234 points, behind Red Bull’s Sergio Perez. The champion was, of course, Mr Verstappen . . . now firmly out on his own as top dog in F1.
Lewis also finished ahead of teammate George Russell, so had the consolation of regaining his position as number one at Mercedes in terms of season’s end results. But for such a garlanded individual, it was still a sad fact that at the end of the 2023 season, his most recent F1 win had come at the 2021 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. He would tell reporters that the highlight in 2023 was when he won pole in Hungary – the only time since 2021 that he had come out tops in qualifying.
Lewis explained, ‘I think obviously Budapest was the highlight, a track that I love and somehow to dethrone the Red Bull for a single moment gave us a lot of hope. And that knowing that if we just keep pushing we may get there.’
It sounded like a man whistling in the wind, not a genius of the track. The Mercedes was no slouch, but it paled in comparison to the all-conquering Red Bull. And Ferrari and McLaren were also starting to get their act together.
Lewis saw some consolation in that, despite his own barren season in terms of wins, he had pushed the W14 car to its limits – and would finish third overall in the final drivers’ standings. A definite improvement on the sixth place of the previous year.
But towards the end of the season, he couldn’t hide his frustration as the car once again showed its inconsistency. Talking to the press pack after the sprint race in Brazil, he admitted, ‘It was horrible. It was not enjoyable whatsoever. I was just fighting the car from very early on. The last couple of races we’ve been excited that we’re progressing, and it’s been really positive to see. But then you come to another track, and you have the worst drag that you’ve had for ages. So, it’s like you just don’t know what to expect with this one.’
He admitted he’d be glad to see the back of the 2023 campaign. ‘But only a couple more races with this car and it’s gone, and I’ll be happy. This year, it’s [a case of] just counting down the days, trying to enjoy every day as best we can.’
George finished a disappointing eighth in the Drivers’ Championship in 2023, with 175 points, notching just two podiums across the season – in Spain and Abu Dhabi. He summed up his campaign as ‘a very, very strange one’, adding, ‘It’s been a season where we’ve had a lot of pace at times, but never achieved the results that I felt were deserved or were possible. So, we definitely need to try and understand why that was. There’s been a huge number of missed opportunities in many regards. It really hasn’t been a smooth season. But I think when everything’s flowing, when everything’s working right, luck tends to be on your side.
‘But when, you know, you’re on the back foot, you tend to have bad luck. I’m not one for believing in luck. I think you make your own luck. So, we just need to be faster and lady luck will be with us.
‘The results were so smooth-flowing last year; I think we finished in the top five more than any other driver. And this year, I feel that I’ve upped my game in my qualifying pace and upped my game in my race pace, and we’ve been on the back foot.
‘But we have had more competition this year. With McLaren joining the fight in the second half, Aston being there at the start of the season.’
Mercedes had started 2023 with the W14 carrying over the flawed zero-sidepod design from the year before and hopes of a recovery quickly faded. The car lacked stability, particularly in cornering, and Hamilton and Russell were left chasing Red Bull and even losing ground to Aston Martin and Ferrari at times.
A major upgrade came at Monaco and Spain, where Mercedes abandoned the old concept and introduced sidepods along with suspension and floor changes.
The car became more predictable and podium-capable, but it was never a true match for Red Bull. Hamilton extracted more consistency and points, while Russell often lost out through bad luck or small mistakes. The upgrades steadied the ship but did not deliver a genuine title challenge.
Lando upped his game, in no small part due to the improvement in the McLaren. He was sixth in the Drivers’ Championship with 205 points. He had no wins, but seven podium finishes. Best finishes were second places. Norris himself called 2023 ‘his best year’ so far, citing improvements in tyre management and consistency. In an exclusive interview with Motorsport.com, he said, ‘I think it’s been my best year. I think it’s been our best year as a team. I guess a lot of it’s just for the obvious reasons – the success that we’ve been able to have after the start that we’ve had.
‘I think there’s been a lot of great performances – both in terms of just racing through and having some good ones. Mexico is probably the highlight of all of that.’
Lando confirmed his position as number one at McLaren, although Oscar Piastri was now asking questions of him as he became more confident in his second season in F1. Like Lando and Lewis, he was a newbie who wasn’t at all content at simply having earned a drive in the top tier of motorsport: he wanted to be the main man.
His and Lando’s 2023 season had hinged on McLaren’s mid-year upgrades. The MCL60 began the campaign slow and uncompetitive, but the improvements by the time of the Austrian GP marked a turning point. With improved aerodynamics and efficiency, the car suddenly found front-running pace. Norris, who had been fighting in the midfield, was now a regular podium contender, and Piastri also benefited with strong finishes. The transformation was one of the most dramatic in recent F1 history, turning McLaren from a struggling outfit into Red Bull’s most consistent challenger by the latter half of the year. Norris’s strength was being consistently near top positions even when not winning. Russell had some podiums but also ‘off’ weekends. Hamilton had high expectations, but the Mercedes still wasn’t good enough to claim wins or challenge for the title.
And all three Brits had one other major issue to contend with all season in 2023 – Verstappen. The Dutchman dominated with 19 wins, which meant that in many races the competition for second and third was the realistic target for Hamilton, Norris and Russell.
And so on to 2024 for our generational British trio, and the season when McLaren and Norris truly started to make waves in F1.
The team arrived as a top-tier outfit, winning races, securing the constructors’ title and proving a consistent threat right across the season. But 2023 had been essential to this success: it wasn’t overnight. Without the upgrades, restructuring and performance gains in that year, McLaren wouldn’t have been poised for the leap in 2024. In a nutshell, 2023 was the rehearsal; 2024 was the breakthrough.
Their car for 2024, the MCL38, proved much more competitive. Early in the season there were strong signs – podiums, wins, strong qualifying pace. Key upgrades to aerodynamics, tyre wear and suspension paid off. Their performances and results improved significantly, with race wins arriving.
The Constructors’ Championship was their first since 1998. McLaren’s official site summed it up like this: ‘After a nail-biting finish to the 2024 Formula 1 season, we secured our ninth Formula 1 Constructors’ Championship at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. This year’s V6 hybrid McLaren MCL38 proved stunningly quick in the hands of our drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, racking up six race wins and 21 podiums throughout the 2024 season. The title came down to the final race in Abu Dhabi and saw the team score 26 constructors’ points and secure the championship.’
Lando Norris was top dog among our three Brit aces in 2024. OK, he was secondbest behind Verstappen, but the Dutchman was still so ahead of the pack that second really did feel like first. Lando showed his mettle with four wins and 13 podiums. Teammate Piastri also gave warning of his potential for 2025, with two wins and eight podiums.
George Russell had a solid season, securing two wins and four podiums. Lewis Hamilton scored two wins and five podiums. But Russell finished sixth to Hamilton’s seventh in the championship by virtue of picking up consistent points finishes when he wasn’t on the podium – while Hamilton had more low-scoring or non-scoring races.
Mercedes was still able to achieve decent results, mainly in qualifying and a handful of races. Hamilton stayed strong, yet his dominance and consistency fell short, and Russell took advantage, particularly in qualifying. Lewis still managed wins and podiums, using his years of experience to keep in touch with his two rival British ‘whippersnappers’.
The 2024 swansong, and Hamilton’s swansong at Mercedes, came at Abu Dhabi. As an indication of what was to come the following season, Lando roared home to victory while Lewis was fourth and George fifth.
It was a final defiant stand by Hamilton: he wasn’t going gently into that good night. No way.
He had started 16th on the grid and even had the cojones to overtake George on the last lap to secure fourth, his final result for the team.
The final radio message between Lewis, his race engineer Peter ‘Bono’ Bonnington and Toto Wolff was emotional and moving . . .
Bonnington: Have to say, mate; it’s been epic working with you.
Wolff: Lewis, that was the drive of a world champion. That was the drive of a world champion. Amazing.
Hamilton: Thanks, Toto. That was fun.
Bonnington: Good man, stellar job today, bud. But yeah, it’s been a pleasure all the way.
Hamilton: Yeah, Bono. We dreamed alone, but together we believed. And as a team, we achieved things. Thank you for all the courage, the determination, the passion, and for seeing me and supporting me. What started out as a leap of faith turned into a journey into the history books. We did everything together and I’m so, so grateful to everyone. Both here and back at the factory. From the bottom of my heart, all the best.
Bonnington: Thank you, Lewis. Yeah, it’s been an amazing journey, and so grateful to be a part of this chapter of your life, and best of luck for the next one.
Hamilton: I love you guys, I really, really do.
Wolff: We love you too and you are always going to be part of this family. And if we can’t win, you should win.
There was no getting away from the fact that, in pure stats terms, this had been Hamilton’s worst ever F1 season, with that seventh-place finish in the championship. But at least he exited Mercedes with a final-flourish after overhauling Russell for that fourth-place spot in his last race. He admitted it meant a lot to him to have signed off with some pride after a tough final campaign, ‘I just didn’t give up, kept pushing. But I had a massive gap to close, so I just focused on getting absolutely everything from the car and not giving up. I just wanted to finish on as high as possible and just give every ounce of me to the team as they’ve given to me all of these years.
‘All my races have been powered by Mercedes, and all the success we’ve had. I just sat there to think about all that and just contemplate how great a journey it’s been. I’m going to miss them – I can’t tell you how much I’m going to miss them; it’s going to be a huge amount. I’ve worked with them every day for the past 12 years. There’s a lot of love within this team, and that’s not going anywhere.’
George was generous in his praise of his teammate, even as he lost out to him in their final race together. He told reporters, ‘Lewis had an amazing race, so I want to say a big well done to him. He has not only been an incredible teammate, but someone that I looked up to when I was karting and racing in junior formula. He is not only the greatest driver of all time but is the type of person that every racing driver should aspire to be. I wish him well in his next challenge and look forward to battling him on track.’
He also congratulated Lando on his win and offered his ‘congratulations to McLaren on winning the Constructors’ Championship . . . they have been a worthy adversary all season and are deserving winners’.
It linked the three Brits together, but it would be Lando who had the final word – and who issued an ominous warning to his two home rivals after he won in Abu Dhabi. On the team radio, he said, ‘You all deserve this [the race win and the constructors’ title win]. Thank you so much. It’s been a special year. Next year is going to be my year too.’
CHAPTER 13
THE PROMISED LAND
So, after a journey that has taken us from the ’60s, with the likes of Jim Clark, Jackie Stewart and Graham Hill, through the ’70s and James Hunt, the ’80s with Nigel Mansell, the ’90s with Damon Hill and David Coulthard, we finally arrive at the promised land. The moment our three British heroes of the modern era — Hamilton, Norris and Russell — finally converge in 2025 for the fiercest of battles, both inwards and outwards, for supremacy, prestige and personal pride.
As Hamilton dominated up until 2020, his relative demise in 2025 had coincided with the continued rise of Norris and Russell. Of course, the cars have a lot of say in this: while Norris’s McLaren had now proved the one to beat, Russell’s Mercedes was still generally there or thereabouts, while valid questions continue to be asked about Hamilton’s Ferrari.
And in the mind of many pundits, about the fire in his belly, and whether he was finally feeling his age, at 40.
These are all fair questions although my reading is that the fire will never diminish for Lewis Hamilton. He will always want to win and will be a winner if you give him the tools to complete the job. In 2025, he wasn’t too old; he was simply adapting to the idiosyncrasies of a brand-new team (and Ferrari had also been entangled with a whole raft of struggles and battles to become a force again, while constantly beholden to nods to a gloried past. A bit like Manchester United in the world of football).
But until the conclusion of Lewis’s last season at Mercedes in 2024, there wasn’t a massive difference in the trio’s trajectories. I’d argue Lewis, George and Lando were of equal billing that season, after previous years of ups and downs for all three.
