In a year where Mercedes look unlikely to be leading the standings, seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton continues to break records and submits his name repeatedly into the history books. Yet, the 2022 season could be a fight back to winning ways for both Hamilton and fellow compatriot George Russell.The new era of regulations hasn't favoured Mercedes, with them struggling from ‘porpoising,’ a problem created by downforce pulling the car to the ground and air flow creating a bumping motion. The Brackley-based team have been tweaking their car throughout testing and practice, but when asked on his ability to compete for the title, Hamilton admitted: “Obviously it’s a little bit too early to have those kinds of thoughts. But at the moment, I don’t think we’ll be competing for wins.“But there is a potential within our car to get us there. We have just got to be able to extract it and fix some of the problems, which is what we’re working on.”Sunday’s Bahrain Grand Prix saw Hamilton's prediction come true. BAHRAIN, BAHRAIN - MARCH 20: Carlos Sainz of Spain driving (55) the Ferrari F1-75 leads Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain driving the (44) Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team W13 during the F1 Grand Prix of Bahrain at Bahrain International Circuit on March 20, 2022 in Bahrain, Bahrain. (Photo by Lars Baron/Getty Images)Mercedes seemed to sit at the top of the midfield and not in a position to directly fight for race wins. The result saw Ferrari come out victors, with Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz earning a 1-2 after a difficult previous two years. Meanwhile, world champion Max Verstappen and teammate Sergio Perez were forced to retire, marking a terrible weekend for Red Bull. Mercedes, who were originally on the back foot, climbed onto the podium with Hamilton finishing in third and Russell finishing close behind on his Mercedes debut in fourth.With this result, Hamilton broke a further two F1 records. One for being on the podium for 16 years in a row, previously held by Michael Schumacher, as well as being the only driver to score points in 250 races, out of the 289 he has competed in, a hit rate of 87%.

Hamilton will undoubtedly be pleased with these records, yet they are minimal compared to the one he has been trying to break since 2020. This is, of course, the elusive eighth Drivers’ Championship, an accolade that would cement him past fellow seven-time winner Schumacher.

Although everything is still to play for, 2022 doesn't seem like the most likely year to be able to snatch the title and it requires vast improvement for Mercedes, but just how long is 37-year-old Hamilton willing and able to stick around to try and grab one more title?