Magazine: Lewis Hamilton interview

A handful of so-so qualifying sessions, some fine George Russell performances plus a little bad luck with safety cars, and suddenly some people felt that Hamilton was past it. Of course, every sportsperson will eventually fade as their powers wane, but recent evidence suggests Hamilton has not yet reached that stage.

In this week’s open and insightful interview, Hamilton talks about how he got over the disappointment of the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, his and the Mercedes team’s efforts to improve the difficult W13 this season, and how he sees his future.

It’s clear from Matt Kew’s piece that, despite Hamilton’s 103 world championship race victories, the 37-year-old still loves his racing and is highly motivated to chase that eighth F1 crown.

Neutral fans should rejoice. Hamilton was Max Verstappen’s main challenger at both the United States and Mexican GPs. Given Ferrari’s problems and the gap between the top teams and the rest, which Alex Kalinauckas explores in his weekly column, Hamilton and Mercedes still appear to be the combination most likely to stand up to the Red Bull/Verstappen steamroller that is gathering momentum.

Motorsport lost one of its key players of the past in Mauro Forghieri last week. The Italian formed strong partnerships with John Surtees and Niki Lauda, among many others, and his impact on Ferrari should not be underestimated. Adam Cooper looks back at a fine career in our tribute.

Ross Chastain’s ‘Hail Mary’ move at Martinsville garnered a lot of attention for NASCAR ahead of the season finale last weekend. Charles Bradley explains the move and hears from some key players, while Jim Utter reports on the Phoenix decider and introduces newly crowned Xfinity champion Ty Gibbs.

It’s the time of year when we start looking back at how various titles were won and this week we review the DTM, British GT and GB3 seasons, picking out the star drivers in each category.

On the UK scene, the main event was the Walter Hayes Trophy Formula Ford extravaganza at Silverstone. Stephen Lickorish covers the drama and controversy in our four-page report.

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