Mercedes Technical Director Mike Elliot has hailed Lewis Hamilton's work ethic, saying the Briton remains hungry to fight to improve the performance of the troublesome W13. With the team having scooped all but one available title between 2014 and 2021, hopes were high in Brackley that 2022 would continue in a similar vein. However, the Silver Arrows have slipped back in competitiveness this year, relegated to fighting for podium places while Red Bull and Ferrari have won all the races so far in the campaign. Mercedes' fall from grace has meant that Hamilton has been unable to seriously challenge for the World Championship for the first time since 2013. Hamilton is also yet to win a race in 2022, and if he does not do so before the season is out, the seven-time World Champion and 103-time Grand Prix winner will end his streak of having won a Grand Prix in every season since his F1 debut in 2007. However, despite Mercedes' struggles this year, Elliot says that Hamilton has not downed tools or lost focus, and remains as committed as ever to helping the Silver Arrows return to the winners' dais.
Hamilton 'leading and bringing energy' to Mercedes
"Both our drivers have been brilliant this year," Elliot told media. "We've not given them the car that they need to fight, and particularly for Lewis, seven-time World Champion, to not have been in that position, to be winning races every weekend and fighting for championships has been hard. "I think Lewis pushes the team. I think he does a really good job of giving us feedback. He works really hard. His work ethic has not changed at all this year. "He's here, late in the evenings, working with us, trying to get the most from the car and I think that's just an encouragement to everybody else in the team to see the input he's putting in. "Lewis also spoke to the factory probably nearly two weeks ago and stood up and spoke to them and he was brilliant. "I guess what you expect from a character like Lewis: properly leading, properly bringing energy to the team. I think that's what we need going into difficult winter."
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