Lewis Hamilton insists that Mercedes will eventually get back to the top of Formula 1, adding that his next victory will be the “greatest triumph” of his entire career.
Having become disillusioned with McLaren’s failure to sustain a title challenge beyond his 2008 success, Hamilton departed to move to the works Mercedes outfit in 2013.
The German marque took full advantage of the switch to V6 turbo-hybrid engines the following year to embark upon an unprecedented streak of winning eight consecutive Constructors’ Championships.
Hamilton added six titles during that time to equal Michael Schumacher’s benchmark tally, while also surpassing the German’s previous record of 91 race victories.
However, the Briton has been unable to add to his 103 wins since December 2021 amid Mercedes’ struggles under the current regulations introduced last year.
But Hamilton remains optimistic that the Brackley-based squad will return to the summit at some stage, declaring that it would be his best racing achievement.
“We’ll be coming back. We can do it,” he told Swiss outlet Blick. “The next step to the top podium will come. And it will probably be my greatest triumph in my career.”
Mercedes’ inherent shortcomings with its troublesome W14 car were exposed at the high-speed Suzuka circuit last time out.
Hamilton lamented lacking the rear-end downforce to match his rivals, ending up an entire second shy of Max Verstappen’s pole position time in the Red Bull RB19.
Prior to that, Hamilton claimed he was “counting the days” before the launch of Mercedes’ 2024 car amid another challenging weekend at Monza in August.
Asked how he retains motivation across the remaining six rounds of this year, Hamilton replied: “I try to push myself to the limit in every race and believe in my team.
“But it’s true: If you don’t feel the balance in the car, your willingness to take risks becomes smaller.”
But Hamilton is hopeful that Mercedes can put the extensive data it has acquired throughout this year to begin next season with a more solid baseline to work from.
“I hope that the amount of data we have collected so far this year will have an impact on the new car,” he added. “That is the hope of the entire Mercedes team in all factories.
“We all have to always believe in our goals. And never give up.”
Hamilton is still striving to earn a record-breaking eighth World Championship, having had the 2021 title controversially stolen away from him at the final round of that year.
The ex-McLaren racer, though, has denied that he has pinpointed that landmark as the definitive endpoint of his F1 career.
“I never said that the eighth title was a stop signal for me,” he retorted. “But I’ll only know that [the end point] when I actually get there.”
Pressed on whether his chances of F1 success depend on the Mercedes W15, Hamilton responded: “They say it: Without a great car you can hardly achieve the big goals in Formula 1. No one.”
