Despite how much Mercedes have struggled for performance, Lewis Hamilton said 2022 has not been the hardest year of his Formula 1 career.
It was obvious from an early stage that it was going to be a tricky season for the Silver Arrows. They were a long way off the pace of Red Bull and Ferrari in the first few weeks, and also suffered the "porpoising" effect of the bouncing cars more than most.
Having spent most of the year playing catch-up, they finally tasted success in Brazil this month. But it was George Russell who got that win, and Hamilton's long streak of winning at least one race in every year of his F1 career finally came to an end.
The seven-time world champion also finished outside the top five in the drivers' standings for the first time ever. But while statistically this has been the worst season of his career, he insists there was another year in which he was much more miserable.
"No, I think 2011 was probably the hardest year I had, just in terms of life," he said. In that year, he faced a number of off-track difficulties including a strained relationship with his father Anthony and a split with his girlfriend of four years, singer Nicole Scherzinger.
His difficulties around that time were obvious when he snapped angrily at a question about why he did not appear to be more happy after a strong drive in Korea. "I've had the worst year – if you expect me to be all happy-doolally after a race like that you're not going to hear it," he said tersely.
Continuing his answer this weekend, Hamilton added: "This year is not the greatest, it is up there with probably the top three of the worst seasons. But it's been a much stronger year in terms of myself, in terms of how it worked with the team, how we've all stayed united. So I think there's been lots of pluses."
Hamilton's year ended, perhaps fittingly, with disappointment. He took a hefty hit on the first lap after bouncing hard over a kerb which appeared to cause some damage, and then was forced to retire with just a few laps to go due to a hydraulics failure.
"I am very pleased it is over and done with," the Brit admitted. "I always believed right until the last race that there was potentially a chance. So I think it's important to hold on to hope and, and just keep working. I gave it everything and I think it was ultimately the last race was almost like the whole season – it summed up my whole year."
