Maintaining record of win in every F1 season has “zero importance to me”

Seven-time F1 world champion Hamilton has won at least once per season since making his F1 debut with McLaren back in 2007.

But amid Mercedes’ struggles to compete with Red Bull and Ferrari at the very front this year, Hamilton finds himself in the longest winless run of his F1 career, dating back to last December’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

Mercedes has made steps forward with its W13 car this year to become more of a threat at the front, but Hamilton has just six races remaining to maintain his record of winning in every season.

Asked about the importance of the record, Hamilton said it had “zero importance to me”, his focus instead being on helping Mercedes rediscover its form.

“I’m grateful that each year we have had, since 2007, an opportunity to win,” said Hamilton.

“I do believe that we’re going to have a chance this year, [there are] still got some races to go. And that’s definitely a real big goal for us as a team, to get back to the front and be fighting for the lead.”

Singapore is set to present Mercedes with a greater opportunity to be competitive thanks to the street circuit layout, although the bumpy track may impact the W13 given its earlier struggles with bouncing this year.

Mercedes saw its form swing between the high-speed nature of Spa, where it found itself well off the pace of Red Bull compared to Budapest or Zandvoort, both of which were more suiting to the car and gave it a chance to battle at the front.

“I have no idea where our car is going to be great,” Hamilton said of the remaining races.

“It was a surprise when we got in the car, and the car felt so much better than [at Spa], like completely different to the previous weekend. But I’m hoping more often than not, it feels like Budapest and [Zandvoort] for the rest of the races.”

Hamilton has a record 103 wins to his name, and entered 2022 with a chance to take the outright record for most consecutive seasons with a win. He is currently tied on 15 seasons with Michael Schumacher.

“I’m not focused on the record but of course, I’m trying to get that win this year,” said Hamilton.

“But the record is not important to me, just because I don’t really care about records in general.”