"We had the most fun"- Lewis Hamilton not frustrated after tough fight against Esteban Ocon at 2022 F1 Japanese GP

Lewis Hamilton admitted that he had a lot of fun racing with Esteban Ocon at the Japanese GP. The Mercedes driver was behind the Alpine driver at the restart and tailed him throughout the race. He could not, however, make the move on Ocon as the car did not have the straight-line speed to overtake. Lewis Hamilton told the media that he was not too annoyed with how the race went and that he enjoyed his battle with Esteban Ocon. In the post-race interview, he said,

“I had a lot of fun. He did a great job staying on track and staying ahead, obviously he was very, very quick on the straights. I was trying everything, but we I think we had the most fun. I don't know how other people had it. I don't feel frustrated, because it was a sprint race. I did the best I could, and I'm happy that we at least got some points today. We were just so slow in a straight line. I was getting close, as close as I could."

Lewis Hamilton did lament that the race was a bit short and hoped it could go on for a few more laps. He said,

“You could probably see it on the TV, as soon as I pulled out they would just pull away. I wish it was a longer race. I'm glad that we got some laps for the fans here. Although it's not really a massive race for them, considering how long they waited. I think it was awesome. I mean, that's what motor racing is about. I had a blast. It was so tough, so hard to see. I think the restart that we had at the end, I think it was perfect timing, and I just wish we could have gone longer into a bit of the dark. We lost a little bit of the light."

Lewis Hamilton touched on a very important point about the characteristics of these new cars in wet weather. He talked about the fact that these new cars generate a lot more spray, which makes it tougher in terms of visibility. He said,

"It seems like there's maybe more spray this year with these cars. And I think we probably all should have started on extreme wets. But when we did the laps to the grid, it was inters. I guess it just then started to rain a bit more. But I think if we had all started on extremes we would have just kept going, and it would have been fine. It was definitely tough with the visibility, but it was awesome at the same time.”

We know what the problems are with this car: Lewis Hamilton

Lewis Hamilton admitted that finishing P5 in a wet race was not an amazing result by any means. According to him, Mercedes is aware of the places where the car lacks and work is being done to prevent that. He said,

“I think for us we know what the problems are with this car. I believe that we as a team we've not gone from being world champions to not being able to build a good car. I have no doubt that we'll have a better car next year. Whether or not we've rectified every issue that we have this year, we'll find out when we get there."

Lewis Hamilton is P6 in the championship at the moment, and this could turn out to be the worst season of his career.