Refreshed Hamilton ready for new F1 season

Lewis Hamilton says he is ready to fight for titles in the coming Formula One season after working through the controversial loss of the drivers' championship in the final race of last year.

"I never said I was going to stop," the 37-year-old Hamilton said at the launch of the Mercedes W13 car on Friday, adding it was a "privilege" to work with the team.

"It was obviously a difficult time for me, I needed to take a step back and focus on being present with my family all around me.

"I eventually got to a point where I decided I would be attacking again coming into another season and working with Toto (Wolff) and George (Russell)."

Hamilton was set to claim a record eighth drivers' title in 2021 until he was overtaken by Max Verstappen's Red Bull on the last lap of the Abu Dhabi grand prix after race director Michael Masi changed the usual safety car procedure.

Masi will no longer operate as race director in the 2022 season, which starts with the Bahrain GP on March 20, following a review from the governing FIA.

Mercedes will look to win their ninth straight constructors' championship having swept all eight in the first hybrid era from 2014.

The coming season, however, has fresh regulations aimed at making overtaking easier and under financial caps which should make the mid-table teams more competitive.

"The hopes are we're competitive with the new regulations, it's not a given," team principal Toto Wolff said.

"We hope that we're in a hunt for another title."

The highly-rated George Russell, 24, who replaced Valtteri Bottas, has moved from Williams having been part of the Mercedes driver programme and said Hamilton was a "super hero to me," as he moved through the ranks.

"Racing alongside him is a real privilege for me."