7X WDC champion Sir Lewis Carl Hamilton Davidson has been going through a dry spell lately and has been underperforming since the 2021 Abu Dhabi GP incident. This can be attributed to one main reason, which is the inability of Mercedes to provide the Briton with a competitive car. The W13 was the worst car Hamilton had driven in a while, and the Englishman found himself outperformed by his teammate, George Russell.
After finishing in 2nd place in the 2021 season behind Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton has only been a shadow of his former self and has failed to win a single race since then. He has appeared on the podium now and then but wins are hard to come by for him.
Lewis Hamilton’s last race win was at the 2021 Saudi Arabia Grand Prix
Hamilton’s last win came in the 2021 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, which was the second last race of the season and it adjusted the standings in such a way that Hamilton was on level points with Verstappen at 369.5 points.
Max Verstappen finished the FP3 in style and set the stage for the qualifying round. But in an unexpected turn of events in the qualifying session, Lewis Hamilton snatched the pole. Lewis Hamilton secured pole position for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, beating Red Bull’s Sergio Perez by 0.169 seconds.
Jump onboard with @LewisHamilton for the lap that clinched the Pirelli Pole Position Award in Jeddah 🚀
Putting him on pole for Sunday’s crucial race in his title battle with Max Verstappen 🏆#SaudiArabianGP 🇸🇦 #Pirelli @pirellisport pic.twitter.com/I7H6kn7z02
— Formula 1 (@F1) December 4, 2021
Hamilton’s pole position was his 103rd in F1 and a boost to his championship hopes. The inaugural Saudi Arabian Grand Prix could have proved pivotal in the title race, with just eight points separating Hamilton and Verstappen. The race was held on a state-of-the-art circuit and could become a regular fixture on the calendar.
Mick Schumacher, driving for the Haas team, spun out and slammed the barriers at Turn 23 on lap 10 of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, resulting in a safety car. The entire field was required to slow down and maintain a lower speed until the debris was cleaned and the circuit was pronounced safe for racing.
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen was able to make a free pit stop at this time due to the race being red-flagged, which is when the vehicles are brought to a halt on the grid. Verstappen had a substantial advantage since he was able to change tires without sacrificing track position. Meanwhile, Mercedes drivers Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas had previously pitted under yellow flags, preventing them from making use of the red light.
When the race resumed, Hamilton took the lead after Verstappen slid off the track at the first chicane, allowing Alpine’s Esteban Ocon to claim second. Two separate incidents involving Charles Leclerc colliding with Sergio Perez and Nikita Mazepin colliding with George Russell, however, resulted in another red flag.
The race was restarted after much discussion, with Ocon leading, followed by Hamilton and Verstappen. Verstappen claimed the lead after making a bold move on the opening chicane with his brand-new medium compounds. Hamilton was hampered by Ocon, who, like Hamilton, missed the Turn 2 apex. But he was able to pass the Alpine a lap later.
Lewis Hamilton had himself a WEEKEND 🏆@LewisHamilton won the first race in Jeddah & picked up the fastest lap, meaning he’s leveled for first headed into the final round 🔥 #SaudiArabianGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/yjWuYpCqbH
— Monster Energy (@MonsterEnergy) December 6, 2021
The rest of the race was a back-and-forth fight between Hamilton and Verstappen, punctuated by many Virtual Safety Car stints. Hamilton tried to pass Verstappen on the main straight on lap 36, but Verstappen braked too late, driving wide at Turn 2 and holding the lead. He was subsequently told to relinquish P1, which he did on Lap 37 by slowing down and enabling Hamilton to catch up. However, Hamilton was caught off guard and clipped the back of Verstappen’s car, causing damage to his front-right wing.
The stewards assessed Verstappen a five-second time penalty for failing to return the lead correctly, but the Dutch driver continued to battle Hamilton for first position. Hamilton eventually overtook Verstappen at the final corner on lap 43 and went on to win the race with a 10-second lead.
Esteban Ocon lost out on a podium finish by a tenth of a second, while McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo finished fifth after starting 11th. AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly finished sixth, with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz finishing seventh and eighth, respectively. Alfa Romeo’s Antonio Giovinazzi finished ninth, with McLaren’s Lando Norris rounding out the top 10.
Lewis Hamilton emerged victorious in Saudi Arabia after a tough battle against Max Verstappen
the 7X champion from Stevenage, Hertfordshire said “It was difficult. But we persevered as a team, we’ve had all sorts of things thrown at us, particularly in the second half of the season, so I’m just really proud of everyone and also I’m grateful for the crowd we’ve had this weekend; it’s been nice to be here.”
Contrasting emotions on the podium in Jeddah after @LewisHamilton emerged victorious in a titanic battle with Max Verstappen 🏆#SaudiArabianGP 🇸🇦 #F1 pic.twitter.com/PmCuFI7Nrt
— Formula 1 (@F1) December 6, 2021
Lewis Hamilton also said that he had been racing for a long time but that was incredibly tough. He added that he had tried to be as sensible and tough as he could be out there, but also sensible and with all his race experience over the years, just keeping the car on track and staying clean.
The race at Jeddah in 2021 was Hamilton’s last win till now, the champion still does aspire to be world champion once again to break Ferrari legend Michael Schumacher’s record of 7 WDC titles. Team principal Toto Wolff believes that the Englishman will continue to fight with the German constructor and that the team has to provide the 38-year-old driver with a competitive car to keep him as a driver in the future.