Lewis Hamilton makes F1 vow with defiant message to fans after dismal Mercedes season

Lewis Hamilton finished third in the Formula One Drivers’ Championship but Mercedes had their first winless season in 12 years as Max Verstappen and Red Bull ran riot.

Lewis Hamilton has promised fans an “exciting” Mercedes showdown next season after a disappointing Formula 1 campaign.

Hamilton has gone two years in a row without a win in F1. In fact, Carlos Sainz was the only man to stop Red Bull from winning the 2023 Singapore Grand Prix.

Other than that, it was a clean sheet for the Milton Keynes side. And Max Verstappen set a title record by scoring more points than Dutchman Hamilton and team-mate George Russell.

The challenges facing Mercedes are enormous. It is unlikely that enough development progress will be made over the winter to compete with Red Bull in 2024.

But Hamilton has made it clear to his fans that he is up for the challenge. Taking to social media the day after finishing ninth at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the 38-year-old shared his belief that Mercedes will compete again soon.

He wrote: “Another one is ready. It’s nice to get a P2 from the builders, but at the end of the day it’s not the year we want. Still, I applaud the team that is always moving forward. A big thanks to the fans too. The support this season has made a huge difference and I wouldn’t be where I am today without it. “Going forward, my team and I know we will get back to the top and we know we will have to work hard to make that happen. I promise it will be a lot of fun getting there. … In a season like this, it’s even more satisfying to do that.” \’See you next year.\”

When Hamilton typed this message, he felt much better than he had 24 hours ago. After a disappointing weekend at the Yas Marina circuit, the seven-time world champion claimed that Red Bull have started development of the car for 2024. This means that the next 12 months will be tough. “Red Bull won by 17 seconds [in Abu Dhabi] and I haven’t touched a car since August, so you can guess where they will be next year. I was just slow during the race,” he told reporters. He said sadly. . . “[Red Bull] haven’t even developed the car since August, which is definitely a concern, but we’ve learned a lot about the car and now the team knows what to do. Let’s see if we can get there.”