Lewis Hamilton: Winning felt “empty” - warning to Max Verstappen: “I know how hard it is”

Hamilton finished sixth in the 2022 168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:F1 standings, forced to watch Verstappen rack up a second consecutive title and edge a step closer to the joint-record of seven championships that the Brit shares with 168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:Michael Schumacher.
Hamilton didn’t win a single race for the first time in a season but has told Bild: “It definitely doesn't demotivate me! I'm sure I've had seasons without w🦂ins before – that must have been in karting in 2001. Quite a long time ago!
“Last season, of course, we wanted to fight for the world championship, but we had to acknowledge reꦑality early in the season. Some results still felt like victories, even if they weren't.
“We had so many successes beforeꦰ that it felt a little empty. We won, but we had expected it.&🔴nbsp;
“That's weird because it's actually such a great thing. It was therefore all the better to see how happy we were about theಌ small stages.
“We were fighting for fifth place and eve🌜ryone was excited. Then it was abouꦆt fourth place, and everyone was totally thrilled. It was a nice experience to be so happy about a fourth or fifth place.
“Also the feeling of fighting your way𓆏 forward, of having the f♔irst third or second place, to feel: We are almost there. That's something we've all needed.”

Hamilton insisted that a disastrous 2022, where he fought his Mercedes’ porpoising and performance issues, has given him a new outlook on his p💙revious glory.
“Yes, I appreciate success even more now. After the race in Brazil, when 168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:George Russell won and I finished second🦩, I was incredibly happy about this team 🅠performance.
Hamilton said about the wretchedꦯ W13: “We got along better and better over the course of the season, the whole team worked together really well – even better than before. The year was definitely not a disappointment for me.”
Now 37, he has vowed to return this season to again fight his great rival V💜erstappen who is chasing a legacy as the sport’s best.
“I know how hard it is to be at the top and stay there,” Hamilton warned Vꦅerstappeꦯn.
“We want to get back to the top! What gives us great hope is the endꦇ of this season. The last few races have shown a clear positive trend and prove that we can achieve anything with perseverance.”

James was a sports journalist at Sky Sports for a decade covering everything from Americ🐻an sports, to football, to F1.