Despite a troublesome year, Lewis Hamilton believes 2022 was ‘greatest year’ of his career

Lewis Hamilton has claimed that the 2022 F1 season was the greatest year of his career in terms of fan support. The Briton failed to impress last year as his challenger, the W13, was riddled with porpoising from pre-season testing.

Hamilton was outperformed by his much younger teammate and Mercedes debutant George Russell, who delivered the team's only win of the year. The seven-time world champion was unable to win a much-elusive eighth title victory last year and in fact, was nowhere in contention. Despite a woeful year, the world champion believes that the 2022 season was the greatest year of his career thus far due to the incredible support he received from fans around the world - calling the experience 'empowering'.

In an exclusive interview for Mercedes F1, Lewis Hamilton said:

"The fans continue to keep me going. 2022 has been the greatest year in my career in terms of fan support. There has been so much love and that's so appreciated. The support feels like it is magnified. I felt like we've been on a journey together more than ever before."

With Mercedes reported to have fixed their problems from last year, it will be interesting to see whether Lewis Hamilton makes it back to the top once again.

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Lewis Hamilton understands why he is Max Verstappen's 'target'

Seven-time F1 world champion Lewis Hamilton claims that he is Max Verstappen's 'target' due to the success the Briton has enjoyed since 2014. The 2021 championship rivals barely fought it out in 2022, but infamously collided at the 2022 F1 Brazilian GP. Hamilton is sympathetic towards Verstappen's mentality, claiming he had a similar mindset when he entered Formula 1 back in 2007.

The Briton had the worst season of his career since his debut, having not won a single race in 2022. Just around 14 months ago, the pair were battling it out in the closing stages of the 2021 season, highlighting Mercedes' dramatic fall from grace. Max Verstappen, on the other hand, had his most successful season yet, rewriting the record books with 15 wins in 2022.

Lewis Hamilton explained Max Verstappen's 'target' mentality to British broadcaster Channel 4, saying:

"Then also just look back at the way those individuals behave on track around me [and it] kind of shows that it is a little bit different to others. I can't explain fully exactly why [that is], but it is in part for sure to do with the time I've had in [in F1] and the success I've had."

Lewis Hamilton continued:

"I know because I remember when I got into F1 [in 2007], that the target was someone else who had had the success and my goal was to challenge them. You almost wanted to show how tough you were, you always wanted to show how good you were compared to that person."

With Mercedes touted to be title contenders this year, it will be interesting to see whether the two mammoths of the sport go head-to-head once again soon.