Lewis Hamilton believes Mercedes can take the fight to the frontrunners in 2013, despite their woes toward the tail end of last year.
The Anglo-German outfit scored just a handful of points in the second half of the season despite an early win in China. A lack of development saw their championship ambitions fade early on in the year, but Hamilton is confident they can bounce back and he says it isn’t ‘impossible’ for them to be fighting at the front.
“I live to win. That’s what I work towards every year,” said the 2008 champion. “So that’s what we’re going to work to this year.
“Of course it’s going to be tough to compete, to beat the guys that are already at the front like the Red Bulls and the Ferraris and McLarens but I don’t think it’s impossible,” he added.
The 27-year-old described the year ahead as a journey, with many believing 2013 is purely a ‘bedding-in’ season before the vast technical changes in 2014 give Mercedes a real chance of competing for the title.
“I think this year’s going to be an interesting year, an interesting journey.
“Learning and getting to know new people and working with new people is always a massive challenge so that’s first and foremost one of the biggest challenges I have.
“And after that it’s trying to succeed, trying to extract the most out of them and vice-versa. But I think it’s going to be a journey that we are going to enjoy.”
