Lewis Hamilton ends the year without winning, behind George Russell and with his first breakdown 93 races later

2022 has not been the best year for Lewis Hamilton. The British driver had always reached the last race of the season with at least a chance of winning the title since 2014, when he had not already won it. However, in 2022 the most successful driver in history has not been anywhere near that.

On the contrary, this year is the first since Hamilton has been in Formula 1 in which he has not won a single race. Since he debuted in 2007, even in his worst seasons he had won a race, but 2022 has choked him in a bad way. In fact, he's even finished behind his teammate, George Russell.

For the first time in 16 years in F1, Hamilton has not won a race

If Hamilton's career has been characterized by something, it is for always having cars that are competitive enough to fight in the top zone of the races, which, together with his talent, had always meant that he had won some event. Even in 2013, his first year with Mercedes, he achieved his only victory of the season at the Hungaroring.

This 2022 has once again had a competitive car, which has gone from less to more, but has not managed to win. The tyranny of Max Verstappen has once again hit Hamilton hard, and when Mercedes was able to win, in Brazil, the victory went to George Russell. The young Briton is the new threat for Hamilton.

Russell has become the third teammate capable of beating Hamilton, after Jenson Button in 2011 and Nico Rosberg in 2016. The youngster has not only added 35 more points than the veteran, but has also achieved the only victory for Mercedes. Of course, Hamilton wins on podiums, 9 to 8.

And it seems that Hamilton is beginning to turn his back on his proverbial fortune. The Mercedes stranded the Briton in Abu Dhabi, in what was Hamilton's first breakdown all season. You have to look back a long way to find the last time Hamilton withdrew from a race due to breakdown.

Specifically, it was at the 2018 Austrian Grand Prix. Hamilton was running in fourth position with ten laps to go when he had a problem with the fuel pressure in his Mercedes and retired. This means that Hamilton has gone 92 consecutive races without abandoning a race due to mechanical failure.

Throughout the entire hybrid era, Hamilton has abandoned just five races due to mechanical failure. The same ones that Fernando Alonso wears only in this 2022 season. The reliability of Mercedes is anthological.