Why a title-less 2022 F1 season won't stop Hamilton's legacy from growing

At this stage, it’s clear that only one of the all-time great sporting turnarounds and, by extension, upsets will return Lewis Hamilton the Formula 1 world championship crown this season. And yet 2022 still has the potential to tangibly add more to his motorsport legacy than any one of his seven crowns has in isolation.

With his unmatched tally of 103 grand prix wins, the same number again for pole positions, 186 podiums, tying Michael Schumacher in the title count and many more F1 records long-since secured, it’s unlikely to be his statistical achievements from these 12 months that will bolster his lasting impact on the sport.

Particularly because he remains on course to chalk his first-ever winless car racing season, having always taken to the top step of a podium at least once since graduating from karts and into Formula Renault UK in 2002. That said, it is worth nothing that the French GP this weekend will mark his 300th F1 race start. Come ‘lights out in Abu Dhabi’, Hamilton will have leapfrogged Schumacher and ex-McLaren team-mate Jenson Button to have the fourth-highest number of GP presences in history.

Anyway, it’s the foundations Hamilton is laying to sustain success at Mercedes well into the future and increase diversity and inclusion across motorsport that look set to be the biggest takeaways from his 2022. Both of which he has pressed home in recent weeks.

Starting with the Silver Arrows, before George Russell’s move to Mercedes became a certainty and circulated as the worst-kept paddock secret, Hamilton was vocal in his support of Valtteri Bottas. Having enjoyed a harmonious relationship with the Finn since 2017 and knowing he had the measure of his then team-mate, he was understandably reticent in throwing his support behind a lesser-known quantity in Russell. The younger Brit destined one day to become the new face of Mercedes motorsport.

Hamilton unsubtly softened his stance when Russell had inked his new deal and since the Mercedes W13 was launched in February, has been overwhelmingly glowing about his new stablemate. Those positive vibes culminated in Hamilton effectively anointing Russell as the next British F1 champion. Last week he was quoted by F1’s official website as saying: “We've worked together incredibly well. George has been super positive… had a positive impact on the work environment.

“It's generally been a real pleasure to work with him and it's been great to see his success. He's done such a great job, got great points for the team and he's going to continue to improve, he's going to continue to improve for a long time.

Hamilton has been glowing with praise for Russell since working together as Mercedes team-mates

Photo by: Steve Etherington / Motorsport Images

“I definitely see that he's got so much potential in him [to be a world champion] and he's in the right place for it as well. I really think that… whether or not I'm here, he has all the qualities to help take this team forward in the future and lead them to success, so I think it's been the right choice for the team. I hope I can be a little bit of a part of helping him progress.”

It's that last sentence that is most enlightening. Hamilton wants to help Russell help Mercedes remain at the front of the pack - should the long-term contracts of Max Verstappen, Charles Leclerc and Lando Norris signify Russell will remain with the three-pointed star for a long while yet.

When David Moyes was under the cosh at Manchester United, some unfathomably laid the blame with Sir Alex Ferguson. They reckoned he had left the club in a poor place and with a distinctly underwhelming squad (despite the players having just won the 2012-13 Premier League title) to tee up Moyes only to fail. Despite all the success, his decades-long contribution was immediately questioned.

While not a direct comparison, Hamilton seems to be safeguarding against any such accusations. Although his current contract takes him until the end of 2023 prior to any possible extensions, he is already taking on a pseudo-mentor role to round off any rough edges on Russell.

Hamilton’s efforts to go beyond We Race as One, which he reckoned “didn’t actually do anything” and “was just words”, certainly haven’t started and nor will they end purely in 2022

This will ensure Russell is the candidate to maintain Mercedes’ success until the end of the decade, providing it has a car that can fight for wins. It is not to suggest that for any future titles Russell may land that Hamilton is to get the lion share of credit. But it seems more than ever that Hamilton is making a conscious effort to do his part to ensure the decorations for the Brackley squad continue long after he has hung up his racing boots and helmet.

And then there’s his efforts from 2022 which should reap rewards well into the 2030s and beyond. As Hamilton revealed on social media, Team LH invited young karters Cordell Sinclair (11), Myles Harrison (11) and Joshua Bugembe (12) to attend the British GP. As per Hamilton: "It’s so important to pay that forward, support young talent, and work to ensure that the future of motorsport is more diverse than the present.”

This came after the June announcement from his Ignite Partnership (launched in partnership with Mercedes and co-ordinated by the Mission 44 charitable foundation), which revealed Motorsport UK and the Royal Academy of Engineering will receive over £500,000 from an initial total of £5million of seed funding in the push to increase diversity and inclusion in motorsport.

Hamilton’s efforts to go beyond We Race as One - which he reckoned “didn’t actually do anything” and “was just words” - certainly haven’t started and nor will they end purely in 2022. But alongside his work to fine-tune Russell, Hamilton’s legacy in motorsport has the potential to be shaped far more in these 12 months by his work off-track in lieu of turning that title count of seven into eight.

Hamilton remains front and centre of driving a more inclusive and diverse culture in motorsport

Photo by: Steve Etherington / Motorsport Images