Lewis Hamilton may not want to Bahrain GP given first race ‘curse’

Lewis Hamilton may secretly hope to avoid winning the Bahrain Grand Prix as every driver who has won the first race of the season has gone on to finish second in the championship every year since 2017. The Brit will be desperate to end his winless run after no victories in 2022 however his biggest priority is likely to be finally getting his hands upon the record-breaking eighth world title instead with a curse seemingly affecting the first race.

Nico Rosberg was the last driver to go on to win the Drivers’ Championship after winning the first race of the season as he pipped Hamilton to the title in 2016 with a curse seeming to envelop winners in the years since.

Sebastian Vettel won the opening race in Australia in 2017 and 2018 however it was not enough to stop Hamilton’s charge to the title come to the end of the season. Valtteri Bottas followed a similar pattern in 2019 and 2020, getting the better of his then-Mercedes team mate in the opening race before the Brit’s quality told over the course of the campaign.

Max Verstappen was the beneficiary in 2021 and 2022. Hamilton took a narrow win in Bahrain before he and the Dutchman engaged in one of the closest championship battles in Formula One history. Charles Leclerc took the top spot on the podium last year but it was not enough to stop the charge of Red Bull.

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“Is that actually going to happen?” he questioned when asked about Hamilton’s title chances on the Sky Sports F1 vodcast. “Because unless something really weird happens, Lewis is not going to win an eighth championship this year, is he?

“The word at Mercedes is ‘eventually’. Toto said at the launch: ‘We have to have a car capable of challenging for the championship eventually’. George Russell said used the word ‘eventually’ twice in one answer! They are still catching up from being nine, 10, 11 months behind on last year’s car.”

The 2023 Formula One season will get properly underway on Sunday with lights out in Bahrain at 3pm.