Lewis Hamilton’s three missed opportunities to secure a race victory in 2022

But following last lap drama in the Arabian Gulf state, it was his rival Verstappen who secured a maiden World Championship. Oddschecker, which compares odds and provides free offers on F1, had made the reigning champ the favorite for the title once again this year, but no one could imagine the dominant fashion in which he would romp to victory.  

Since that fateful night in Abu Dhabi, it has all been about one man; Super Max. Okay, so in the meantime we've also had a protagonist known as Michael Masi, but 2022 has been all about the Flying Dutchman.

The 25-year-old secured his second consecutive world championship on October 9th when he won in Japan, and victory in Texas a fortnight later was his 13th first place finish of the season. He currently sits a mammoth 124 points clear of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. And his Red Bull team show no sign of slowing down.  

Mercedes’ woes 

It was clear that Mercedes weren’t the dominant force of old back at the curtain-raising Bahrain Grand Prix in March. The Silver Arrows of Hamilton and new boy George Russell were over a second off the leading Red Bulls and Ferraris. 

But despite their evident lack of pace, Mercedes continued to secure impressive results. Russell secured top-five finishes in each of the first nine races. And Hamilton - despite being hindered by a number of difficult setups in a last-ditch attempt from his team to find some pace and data - also managed to pick up two podiums.  

Ever the leader, the 37-year-old record breaker, remained upbeat and never sulked about his team's troubles. And that faith in the German outfit was rewarded mid season when the Silver Arrows managed to close the gap.  

Missed opportunities

Hamilton’s first sniff of a victory came on home turf at the British Grand Prix on July 3rd. In qualifying, he was again a second off polesitter Carlos Sainz, but the Brit remained confident in his race pace, and it turned out he had every reason to.  

With Verstappen suffering from a stuck piece of debris in his charging bull, the race was anyone's to win. The Ferrari duo of Sainz and Leclerc led the way, but Hamilton was hot on their tail. He stayed out longer than both prancing horses, allowing him fresher tires for the end of the race. And it looked like that strategy was about to pay dividends. Hamilton was charging after the leaders, but more safety car heartache - just like in Abu Dhabi, which cost him last year's world championship - was to come. 

Esteban Ocon’s Alpine malfunctioned on the start/finish straight, bringing out Bernd Mayländer and, in turn, all the leading drivers boxed for fresh tires, negating Hamilton's pace advantage and bringing Red Bull’s Sergio Perez back into contention. In the end - and despite a magnificent overtake on both Perez and Leclerc on the final corner - he had to settle for third and dream of what might have been. 

Further safety car woes were to follow on away territory in the Netherlands. Courtesy of a brave one-stop strategy, with 20 laps to go in Zandvoort, Hamilton found himself in the lead and on course for his first victory of the campaign.

Then a rogue AlphaTauri - Red Bull’s sister team - suspiciously broke down on track despite being in the pit lane just seconds earlier. That allowed the chasing pack to box for fresh tires, whereas Toto Wolff decided to keep Hamilton out on aged tires.

He was immediately passed by Verstappen, before Leclerc and teammate Russell both also forced their way ahead. Hopes of another victory evaporated.  

That brings us to the United States. Once again, Verstappen was in a class of his own, comfortably leading and set for a record-equaling victory. But a pit stop issue with his front left tire saw the dominant Dutchman drop down to third, behind Hamilton and Leclerc. The Monegasque driver put up a brave effort in halting the championship leader's progress, but Super Max fought his way past.   

Next up was Hamilton, who - unlike the drivers immediately behind him - opted for hard tires rather than the mediums. That, and a formidable straight-line speed advantage for the Red Bull, was too much to negate, and Verstappen duly sailed past the leader with six laps remaining. The defeat was perhaps the harshest of the lot, with Hamilton being so close yet so far.  

With just three races remaining, will Hamilton manage to find a victory? 

Ever since his debut back in 2007, Lewis Hamilton has managed to pick up at least one victory in every season. No other driver in history has such a record, but 15 years on from that debut - where he missed out on the World Drivers Championship to Kimi Raikkonen by just one point - the streak could be set to come to an end. 

The Stevenage-born driver is already on the longest spell of his career without a first place finish, but if he cannot manage a win this term it would be a bitter blow for the man that is already considered the greatest driver of all time. 

A problem that Hamilton has in the final three Grand Prix events is that all three tracks have mammoth straights. After the United States Grand Prix, it was discovered that Mercedes had the slowest speed of all the cars on the grid, some 10 kph slower than Max’s Red Bull. And with Verstappen managing to close a one-second gap in just one straight in Austin, Hamilton’s chances of picking up a victory seem slim.  

One thing he can take solace in is the fact that the penultimate race is in Brazil. Last year in Sao Paulo, Hamilton overtook all 19 cars en route to an emphatic victory, and he will need a similar herculean effort this season if he is to pull another rabbit out of the hat. 

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