F1 news: Lewis Hamilton hopes Mercedes can ‘fight back’ next season

Hamilton is targeting an eighth world title

Lewis Hamilton has seven world titles (AFP via Getty Images)

Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton hopes his team can “fight back” next season after a disappointing year for the once-dominant team.

Toto Wolff’s team are yet to win a race this season after troubles with their car hampering their progress. Hamilton is used to being in the title fight with seven world titles with Mercedes but he has had to help the team iron out the creases in 2022.

“I’m behind in points, but it’s the bigger picture,” he told Sky Sports. “I hope that that work will impact us better for not only the remaining races this year, but into next year, in terms of where we steer, because I’m a part of that rudder, in terms of steering us in the direction.

“I hope so much that we can fight back next year, and we just have to speak it, and work it, into existence.”

The fighting talk comes from Hamilton who is targeting a record eighth world title after losing out on the historic feat last season to Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.

And the defiance around the team’s dominance does not stop with Hamilton as Wolff has warned teams Mercedes will be back to their best in 2023.

“The puzzle is complete,” Wolff told Formule1.nl. “The reason we didn’t perform as expected this year is that we didn’t put the pieces of the puzzle together. Believe me, this is not the end of our dominance, this is just an interruption.”

Mercedes are third constructors standings and have George Russell in fourth and Hamilton in sixth in the driver standings. The team have four races left of the season to try and climb the standings.