Lewis Hamilton's fifth apology to Mercedes in 2022 highlights bigger issue for Toto Wolff

03.10.2022 - 13:39 / msn.com

apology to Mercedes back at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix after finishing nine places behind team-mate George Russell. But his regrets have been more regular in recent races, starting at the Austrian Grand Prix when he crashed out in Sprint qualifying. And the British racing icon apologised in back-to-back races at Spa and Zandvoort for very different reasons.

Hamilton was forced to retire from the Belgian Grand Prix after being at fault for a crash with Fernando Alonso. It was a different story at the Dutch Grand Prix as Hamilton launched an expletive radio rant at Mercedes after he felt they ruined his chances of winning. Both races saw Hamilton apologise and he had his tail between his legs once again after the Singapore Grand Prix, where he hit the barrier and ended up finishing eighth.

He said: "It all went out the window when I locked up, so my apologies to the team, but we live and learn, and I'll recover. "With five races remaining in the season, Mercedes are mainly driving for pride now with the focus now being on building a title-contending car for next year. But Wolff may well need to help Hamilton rediscover his killing instinct after what has been a troubling year for the Brit.

The 37-year-old is still regarded as arguably the toughest competitor on the track given the right car. At his peak, Hamilton would very rarely make mistakes where he felt the need to apologise to his team. If Mercedes are to catch Red Bull and Ferrari next year, they're going to need Hamilton back to his very best and pushing the likes of Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc to the limits.