Lewis Hamilton says that he is still keeping on top of where McLaren is in the Formula 1 pecking order, stating that he “feels sad” for the team during its difficult times.
Hamilton made his F1 debut in 2007 with McLaren, having been a junior driver with the team for several years beforehand.
He won his maiden F1 title in 2008 with the Woking-based squad and stayed with the team for another several years before departing to Mercedes in 2013.
Since Hamilton’s departure, McLaren has endured a rough run of form, winning just one grand prix since his move away.
In the first years of the turbo-hybrid era, it suffered a challenging number of seasons in partnership with Honda and Renault.
It has been on a recovery path during the last handful of seasons and has established itself as one of the leading F1 teams in the midfield group.
While Hamilton has been enjoying unrivalled success at Mercedes, he says that he has been watching McLaren and is hopeful it will return to form in the near future.
“I like looking at McLaren, I always check where they are because that was where I started and I’m always wishing them well even though they’re competitors of mine,” he told Channel 4.
“There’ll be days where they’re down and I feel sad for them because, again, that’s where I first did my simulation rounds, drove my car for the first time.
“I kinda want them to do well so I hope they have a better year next year.”
Hamilton highlights appreciation for smaller F1 teams
Hamilton endured one of his most challenging seasons in 2022, which marked the first year in his F1 career that he has not taken a race victory.
Mercedes was forced to recover lost time and spent much of the year chasing rivals Red Bull and Ferrari.
It has left Hamilton with an appreciation of how the smaller teams down the pecking order operate, as they too attempt to make strides forward.
“I felt this real appreciation for all these other teams that are trying to do the same thing, with the same intentions, trying to be better and fighting for something,” Hamilton said.
“Going through difficult times because they’ve built a car that’s clearly not capable of fighting at the front. It’s pretty cool to be a part of and to witness.”
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