21
I was really hoping to see Hamilton return to dominance at Ferrari, but was sadly disappointed. I'd really love to see him win an 8th world title. Not to downplay Verstappen's talent, which is immense, but Hamilton had the race and his 8th title locked up at the 2021 Abu Dhabi grand prix. Masi's deviation from normal safety car procedures after direct prompting from Red Bull unfairly put Max with fresh softs directly behind Lewis on old hards, effectively handing Max the race and depriving Lewis of his record-breaking 8th world title. The race should have finished under the safety car, which has been the practice both before and after 2021. That had to be incredibly disheartening for Lewis. Add in how uncompetitive Mercedes' car was for 2022, and it's easy to see how Lewis could slide into a slump. I was hoping a fresh start with Ferrari would bring back his edge, but it hasn't happened yet. We'll see what happens in 2026 with the car revisions under the new rules. I'd love to see Lewis return to form, but in any event 2026 will be interesting with new cars, a new team, and Bottas and Perez back on the grid.