It's been a poor season by his lofty standards. But I don't think he's driven poorly. It's the car. Mercedes just didn't design a great car for 2022, their 'no-pod' design has weaknesses, not least of which is the long-standing struggles with bouncing.
The Mercedes has also really struggled with switching the tires on, getting in and holding the tires in the right window. This is especially troublesome in qualifying and we've seen it again and again as Merc struggles with this.
The Merc also struggles in low-downforce/high power tracks but is much better at the twisty ones. A horse for a course, as it were.
So their car has let them down, but even then it's been the third-fastest on the grid all year, so it's not like they totally stuffed it, but when you're compared to Red Bull and Ferrari -- two teams who nailed the new regs -- they come off looking pedestrian. And you could even argue that their position in the table flatters them a bit as they've been remarkably reliable all year. Lewis has just one retirement, when he clipped Alonso in Les Combes. He's finished every other race, and only one other result was out of the points, at Imola.
The best barometer as far as I'm concerned is head to head with your team mate, and it's here where Lewis' struggles appear. You can argue that Hamilton has not had the rub of the green, that Russell has had the better fortune when safety cars come out and that sort of thing. It's true to a degree, but you make your own luck as they say. And in that head to head Russell has out-performed Hamilton. Qualifying is about even I think, but Russell has had the better results. Russell is a talent, but it's still his first year in a competitive car and I think most expected Hamilton to win the battle. That he hasn't is down to a number of factors, but in the end, points are what matters.
