How does Lewis Hamilton’s winless 2023 season compare to his least successful years in Formula 1?

Benjamin Sue December 11, 2023

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In 2023, Lewis Hamilton had his second-ever season without a win in Formula One, but was it really that bad? Let’s examine 2023’s standing among his least prosperous seasons.

For a driver who has won seven Formula One World Championships and finished third three times, Lewis Hamilton’s year may have been extraordinary to some but to someone accustomed to winning, it was very ordinary.

Although drivers who are considered to be among the best in the sport’s history occasionally have poor years, is Lewis Hamilton’s 2023 truly one of them? Let’s examine the driver from Britain’s least prosperous years.

Assessing the worst Formula One seasons for Lewis Hamilton

Lewis Hamilton’s lowest-ever Formula 1 finish overall occurred in 2022, when the British driver finished sixth in the Drivers’ Championship.

Although the Mercedes W13’s distinctive approach to the new ground-effect regulations was striking, the zero-

sidepod concept, which held great promise in the wind tunnel, disappointed when it came to actual performance on the track.

In addition, Hamilton’s head had fallen after the devastating shock and sadness of losing a world championship eight times in a row at the 2021 season finale in Abu Dhabi.

The reasoning given for Hamilton’s decline in form was that he was testing and assessing various setups and configurations for the vehicle in an effort to assist Mercedes advance, in contrast to a year in which new teammate George Russell took off with an incredibly consistent run of form.

As the season progressed, the margin between the two did, in fact, close enough that Hamilton would have prevailed in Brazil if not for a contentious incident with Max Verstappen that gave George Russell an edge that the new Mercedes entry didn’t squander.

Although Hamilton might not look back on 2022 favorably, it’s safe to say that it wasn’t his worst season in the sport. The season had no wins, losing out to a teammate who did win a race, and a quickly improving trajectory in the second half of the season that saw him capture three consecutive second-place results.

Evaluating Lewis Hamilton’s worst F1 seasons

Lewis Hamilton’s lowest-ever Formula 1 finish overall occurred in 2022, when the British driver finished sixth in the Drivers’ Championship.

Although the Mercedes W13’s distinctive approach to the new ground-effect regulations was striking, the zero-sidepod concept, which held great promise in the wind tunnel, disappointed when it came to actual performance on the track.

In addition, Hamilton’s head had fallen after the devastating shock and sadness of losing a world championship eight times in a row at the 2021 season finale in Abu Dhabi.

2009: Lewis Hamilton’s first challenging Formula One year

In addition, Hamilton has placed fifth twice in the Driver’s Championship; the latter of those two seasons is arguably the one that may be considered Hamilton’s annus horribilis.

Let’s start by examining 2009, which was the first year since Hamilton entered the sport two years earlier that he lacked the necessary gear to contend for a championship. Brawn GP (now Mercedes) and Red Bull emerged as the title protagonists for the first time, while 2008 rival teams Ferrari and McLaren failed to nail things the first time around due to the huge regulation revisions for 2009.

The MP4/24 was not a competitive car to begin the season, and it was not until improvements were made at the Nurburgring that Hamilton could even consider fighting for the podium in a year that closely resembled McLaren’s 2023 campaign. However, the comeback was so remarkable that Hamilton won handily in Hungary and then finished second at the European GP.

Another victory in Singapore erased the memory of crashing out of a podium finish in Italy, and two more podium finishes were to come from the remaining three races. Despite having a poor season overall, it was clear that the defending world champion could make the most of his equipment once it was available to him. In the second half of the season, he scored more points than his rivals for the championship, Jenson Button and Sebastian Vettel combined.

Lewis Hamilton finishes in fourth place multiple times.

In the championship, Hamilton has three different finishes: 2010; 2012; and 2013. He finished considerably ahead of the current World Champion Button in his debut season at Woking in 2010 with three victories and many second places; the only people to beat him were the two Red Bulls and Fernando Alonso of Ferrari.

2012 was another excellent year for Hamilton, who narrowly defeated Button in the Drivers’ Standings and made the most of the McLaren’s capabilities. If not for some unlucky breaks and some race-ending mishaps that he wasn’t responsible for—like getting destroyed at the start in Belgium and in a careless error by Nico Hulkenberg in Brazil—perhaps only Kimi Raikkonen’s Lotus could have been considered a viable rival.

Hamilton made the extremely dangerous decision to switch to Mercedes in 2013, since the Brackley-based team had not yet developed into the massive organization they would quickly become.

Working under team manager Ross Brawn at first, Hamilton and new colleague Nico Rosberg both won races during the season, with Hamilton winning by a margin of 17 points. This was a very respectable outcome for an inexperienced driver in a team that was putting the pieces together for future success.

Is 2023 going to rank among Lewis Hamilton’s lowest F1 seasons?

By 2023, however, it will be evident that this season cannot be considered among his worst. Hamilton had the better of Russell all season long, even if he failed to reach the top of the podium after failing to win for the second year in a row.

Russell frequently suffered the same fate as Hamilton, despite both drivers having their fair share of anonymous weekends. This underscores the challenges both drivers faced due to a stubborn W14.

Furthermore, Hamilton had a brief chance to finish in second place as Sergio Perez struggled to control the Red Bull RB19, which is currently the most statistically dominant car in the history of the competition.

With the exception of his collision with Russell in Qatar and his disqualification from second place after the race in Austin, Hamilton finished every race with points and podiums, which is significantly more than drivers with arguably more consistently competitive machinery accomplished. Hamilton finished third overall.

2011: Lewis Hamilton’s career falters due to a subpar performance

If Hamilton’s second season without a win isn’t sufficient to rank as his worst in the league, then which year deserves that unwelcome accolade?

Hamilton placed fifth twice in the World Championship, as was previously mentioned. One such instance occurred in 2009, but the British driver’s worst year in the sport is hard to ignore—the 2011 campaign.

Despite taking home three victories that year, he was 43 points behind fellow teammate Jenson Button, who had also won three races and was the 2009 Champion. Overall, Hamilton’s season was a bust, with several stewards stops during the first few races that prompted him to famously remark, “Maybe it’s because I’m black—that’s what Ali G says! I’m not sure,” she said following her summons in Monaco.

After splitting from longtime girlfriend Nicole Scherzinger and joining pop tycoon Simon Fuller’s new management business XIX—a move he later regretted—Hamilton appeared to be a little lost that season.

A race-ending collision with Button occurred shortly after a collision with Mark Webber in Canada, and Hamilton’s season was ruined by many incidents involving himself and Felipe Massa of Ferrari.