Lewis Hamilton admits 2022 Mercedes car is 'not far off worst experience' in 2009

Lewis Hamilton has compared his current F1 struggles to his difficult season with McLaren in 2009.

Last season, the 37-year-old went toe-to-toe with Max Verstappen in a battle for the world title, only missing out on the final lap of the season at a controversial Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Following that race, he reportedly considered his future in F1, before confirming he would be returning in a bid to win an unprecedented eighth world crown.

However, he's already written off his own chances after a torrid start to the campaign. He sits on just 28 points after four Grands Prix, with his misery compounded by being lapped by rival Verstappen at the last race in Imola.

However, this isn't the first time that the current Mercedes man has regressed having been a front-runner the previous season. He made his bow in F1 with Ron Dennis' team in 2007, famously missing out on a sensational title win on the final race as Kimi Raikkonen prevailed.

He made amends the following year though, becoming world champion at the age of 23. That made the Stevenage-born star the first British driver to capture the Championship since Damon Hill in 1996.

His momentum stalled dramatically in the next campaign though. He managed just two race wins and a total of 49 points - exactly half of his tally in 2008 - and finished fifth as Jenson Button topped the standings.

Like his current situation, Hamilton's difficulties were largely attributed to an uncompetitive car, and the man himself has now compared the two seasons: "There are people that watch and say I’ve never had a bad car, and I can assure you that I have," he told The Race .

"2009’s car was very, very far off, the worst car that I’ve had," he continued. This car currently is not