Lewis Hamilton 'wants to destroy' Max Verstappen in 2022, claims F1 pundit

Lewis Hamilton is coming into the 2022 season motivated and will be very hard to beat, according to former F1 driver-turned-analyst Anthony Davidson.

The seven-time world champion sent out warning shots following the launch of the Mercedes W13. Hamilton said:

“If you think what you saw at the end of last year was my best, wait until you see this year.”

Davidson, now a television pundit for Sky Sports, interpreted this as extra motivation on the Briton's part after losing out in the world championship battle against Max Verstappen. When asked about the 37-year-old's chances in 2022, he said:

“When Lewis Hamilton comes out with a sentence like that, you have to take notice. He sure is fired up to win this thing once and for all and I think he’ll be hard to beat. He’s certainly coming into this season with a very bullish mentality.”

The 42-year-old went on to add, saying:

“There will be nothing more that Lewis wants from this season than to destroy Max Verstappen. Let’s not beat around a bush, he feels absolutely robbed as to what happened last year in Abu Dhabi, he wants to come out with a dominant car and he doesn’t even want to see Max on track, I’m sure. He just wants to show him a clean pair of heels, disappear off into the distance and win his eighth world championship.”

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"It could happen again" - Johnny Herbert optimistic about Lewis Hamilton's chances for eighth title

The elusive eighth world championship that Lewis Hamilton is seeking could be within his grasp in the forthcoming 2022 campaign, according to former F1 driver Johnny Herbert.

During a panel discussion alongside Martin Brundle, the veteran Briton predicted a rosy future for his compatriot Hamilton, saying:

“I think Mercedes did so well last year because of the budget cap coming into effect, that’s really something that they didn’t spend so much [on] last year. I think their big upgrade was at Silverstone, Red Bull seemed to do one more or less [at] every race we went to. So maybe there’s going to be that, pushing that budget towards what they’re going to be using this year, and I think Mercedes, I think it could happen again for Lewis [Hamilton].”

Hamilton and Mercedes have 11 days before the first race of the season in Bahrain. They will also have to get through the second round of pre-season testing, due to start on March 10.