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LEWIS HAMILTON wants a five-team tussle for the 2023 Formula 1 World Championship.The 2022 season was dominated by Red Bull, who triumphed in 17 of the 22 races.
Lewis Hamilton is set to be back in title mix this yearCredit: Getty
This led to Max Verstappen romping to the title, with Red Bull easily winning the constructors championship too.
Hamilton’s Mercedes showed signs of life towards the end of the campaign, with team-mate George Russell winning the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
Ferrari demonstrated potential earlier in the campaign, and Hamilton also wants McLaren and Alpine to join the fight at the front of the grid.
The Brit, who recently celebrated his 38th birthday, said: “I’d like to think that we’re going to be the ones that are competing with them and being able to beat them [Red Bull] again, I do believe that for sure.
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“But I really hope that Ferrari are strong in the following years. They’ve definitely had a difficult year but there’s been some strong signs, obviously, that you’ve seen this year, which has been nice to see.
“And it’s been nice to see Ferrari doing well again.
“So, I hope that it’s more than a two-way battle next year. I hope there’s at least three of us.
“If not, surprisingly, maybe more. Like, why can’t McLaren be there? We’ll see.
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“Or even Alpine has been doing amazing. So, we’ll see.”
McLaren ditched Aussie Daniel Ricciardo, who will now back-up Verstappen and Carlos Sainz at Red Bull, for his compatriot from Down Under Oscar Piastri.
While Alpine replaced Aston Martin-bound veteran Fernando Alonso with Pierre Gasly – who will partner his fellow Frenchman Esteban Ocon.
Hamilton has 12 months remaining on his Mercedes contract, and is not close to agreeing to an extension.
The 2023 campaign will get underway in Bahrain on March 5.
Everyone will be looking to catch Red BullCredit: Reuters More

SEBASTIAN VETTEL has revealed that could have become rival Lewis Hamilton’s team-mate at Mercedes in 2016.The German Formula One driver admitted that he held talks with former Mercedes boss Niki Lauda following the retirement of Hamilton’s team-mate Nico Rosberg.
Sebastian Vettel has revealed that he could have joined Mercedes in 2016Credit: Getty
Mercedes driver, Rosberg was the reigning holder of the World Drivers’ Championship title in 2016 when he decided to retire.
However, that meant that the Formula One team needed to find a replacement, and Ferrari driver Vettel was approached.
He said: “Maybe there was [a chance], I spoke with Niki.
“But to be honest, it was halfway through the Ferrari period.
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“Obviously, it would have been a big deal because Lewis was their No1, and I’m not sure whether they would have liked to have us both in the team. 
“But I also didn’t have a great interest at that time, because I was so committed to Ferrari.
“That was my dream to make that thing work, so you talk to each other, but it wasn’t really serious.
“I think it would have been a great challenge and I think I would have enjoyed that, but it just wasn’t meant to be.
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“My focus was to win with Ferrari. I didn’t want to change team and win with Mercedes, but it just didn’t happen. I am cool with that.
“I think I would have enjoyed racing with Lewis, we get along really well, and our moment was the 2017 Azerbaijan Grand Prix, where we had maybe what you would call nowadays a ‘misunderstanding!’”
Vettel and Hamilton both made their debuts in 2007.
The Brit was at a leading team in McLaren, whereas Vettel made his debut for backmarkers Sauber.
They clashed during a coming together came at the Azerbaijan GP in 2017 in a clear act of road rage that should have seen Vettel banned.
The German deliberately rammed his Ferrari into Hamilton’s Mercedes as they prepared for a restart behind a safety car.
Vettel was given a ten-second penalty and later apologised but finished ahead of Hamilton in the race. More

LEWIS HAMILTON has hinted at retirement from Formula 1 as he says there are “other things” he wants to do with his life. The seven-times world champion is currently enjoying time away from the track before returning next month for pre-season testing.
Hamilton has many interests outside of drivingCredit: Getty
He has seen it all and done it all during his 15 years at the top level of motorsport.
And despite previously signalling a desire to march on with Mercedes, Hamilton has made clear he does not always feel that way.
He told German newspaper Bild: “Sometimes you wake up and have this feeling: I don’t want to do this anymore.
“And sometimes you wake up and think: I can still do other things my whole life, there is definitely more I want to achieve.”
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He added: “It won’t be a terribly long time now, but I’ll definitely be staying.”
Despite admitting considering retirement, Hamilton has also previously signalled a willingness to consider staying at Mercedes over the long-term.
Team boss Toto Wolff said in October: “We speak a lot together.
“Last week we sat down and he says, ‘Look, I have another five years in me how do you see that?’ Over time we have just grown together.
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“We are totally transparent with each other.”
Mercedes were tipped to offer Hamilton, who turns 38 on Saturday, an extension on his current contract which runs to the end of this year during the off-season.
The experienced driver has many interests outside of F1.
He has previously shown a passion for fashion, music, travelling and tackling inequalities both in and out of sport.
Hamilton is preparing to enter his 17th season in F1 after a couple of tough years on the track.
After the gut-wrenching end to the 2021 season, the star endured his first winless season ever last year while his teammate George Russell managed to claim victory in Brazil. More

LEWIS HAMILTON was the ONLY driver not to vote for drivers’ Driver of the Year.Great rival Max Verstappen came out on top after retaining his title in 2022.
Lewis Hamilton decided against voting for drivers’ Driver of the YearCredit: Alamy
The Dutchman dominated and came an incredible 214 points ahead of Hamilton, who finished sixth in the standings.
As a result, the seven-time world champion was voted as the third best driver of the year.
He was joint with team-mate George Russell.
But Hamilton decided against submitting a vote of his own – the only driver to do so.
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Charles Leclerc, who was Verstappen’s closet challenge in the 2022 season, was runner-up.
Despite the snub, Hamilton was all smiles in his latest Instagram post.
The Formula One star is enjoying some time away from the track after the worst year of his career.
He’s spending some quality family time while on a skiing holiday.
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And the 37-year-old looked cheerful as he uploaded a selfie with his niece and nephew.
Hamilton’s dad Anthony was also in action on the slopes.
The caption read: “Verified Hope everyones holidays have been happy.
“Sending you and your loved ones love, light, and Uncle Terry’s “moves” 😂😂.” More

LEWIS HAMILTON and his fellow Formula One stars have been urged to fight against new laws limiting free speech. F1’s governing body, the FIA, have introduced new rules into the sport which limit the ability for those in the sport to express themselves.
Lewis Hamilton has been urged to keep speaking out despite new rulesCredit: Getty
The likes of Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel have been outspoken on social issues in the pastCredit: Getty
The new doctrine states participants cannot make or display “political, religious and personal statements or comments notably in violation of the general principle of neutrality… unless previously approved in writing by the FIA.”
It comes following the World Cup, which was marred by political controversy as Fifa declared they would sanction political gestures, such as the “One Love” armbands, in Qatar.
But F1 drivers have been urged to rebel against the “brutal” and “hypocritical” rules that have been brought in.
Speaking to the Telegraph, Rob Koehler, chief executive of Global Athlete, said: “Without athletes, the sport does not exist.
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“It is blatantly hypocritical to tell athletes to stick to their sports and stay out of politics while the FIA consistently leverages politics to their advantage.”
Hamilton, along with the now-retired Sebastian Vettel, has been one driver who has remained an outspoken voice on political issues both outside and inside of F1.
And Koehler added: “Freedom of expression is a basic fundamental human right and sport rules cannot supersede human rights.
“Many people look up to athletes as agents of change.
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“The example set by the FIA is that every child, youth and adult watching the sport should remain silent on social justice issues.
“It is simply wrong. Shame on the FIA.
“Athletes are humans first, athletes second.
“It is also clear that the FIA is taking a page out of Fifa’s playbook to silence athletes.”
The FIA explained the change to Article 12.2.1 of the sporting code was done “to align itself to the practices of other similar international sports organisations such as Fifa, IOC and Fiba on the matter of neutrality.”
Koehler slammed the move, saying: “In 2020, athletes took a stand against the IOC and IPC to force them to relax their rules on freedom of expression.
“I hope the drivers do the same. This is brutal.”
Seven-time world champion Hamilton previously wore a shirt that read “Arrest the cops who killed Breonna Taylor” in 2020, and has remained outspoken on a variety of social issues.
Likewise, Vettel highlighted issues such as LGBTQ+ rights and Climate Change prior to his retirement.
After initially promoting the taking of the knee and the “We Race As One” slogan, F1 ditched the knee gesture at the start of 2022 with president Stefano Domenicali declaring “action” rather than “gestures” were needed.
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The new move from F1 has also been slammed online, with SunSport’s Ben Hunt declaring: “Outlawing freedom of speech is not progress.”
A jewellery ban introduced by the FIA earlier this season also saw them come under fire. More