Lewis Hamilton claims Mercedes has 'proven time and time again' why he should stay at the team

Lewis Hamilton stated that the Mercedes AMG F1 team does not need to prove anything to him after their less-than-satisfactory 2022 campaign.

The German team finished the 2022 season third in the constructor's championship, their worst in the Turbo-Hybrid era. At the same time, Hamilton finished behind his teammate George Russell in the drivers' championship and ended in sixth.

Hamilton and Mercedes have dominated the Turbo-Hybrid era as they have eight constructors and six driver titles together during their 10-year partnership.

Speaking to PlanetF1, Lewis Hamilton spoke about the upcoming season and their expectations. He said:

“No, I don’t feel like I need them to prove to me. I think we’ve proven time and time again over the years that we have strength in depth. We still have all these incredibly talented individuals within the team. You don’t lose that ability."

“I think this is the best harmony within the team that I’ve seen all these years and we’ve got a real, fresh young group of engineers and people that have just come into the team over the past year as well. So it’s an exciting time for the team and I don’t plan on being anywhere else.”

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Max Verstappen picks Fernando Alonso over Lewis Hamilton as his dream teammate

Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton have a fierce rivalry between them. It thus came as little surprise when the Dutchman picked Hamilton's former teammate Fernando Alonso over him as his dream teammate.

Speaking to Mobil1Grid, the Red Bull driver picked his dream team principal and dream teammate. He said:

“Can I choose anyone, outside of myself of course? Because I can’t be the team boss and the driver. It’s not possible? I’m just kidding. Well, of the current people who are capable of being the team principal, I would also go for Christian [Horner].”

He added:

“I find that really hard, the drivers, because I think there are a lot of good drivers. And I would go probably for an experienced one. So I would go for Fernando [Alonso]. And then I would take a young guy and I would put Lando in the car. Yeah, Fernando and Lando.”

Verstappen will hope that he gets a tougher examination on the track from Lewis Hamilton and others in the 2023 season battle.