Lewis Hamilton sweeps away doubts. And on Max Verstappen he says, “He wins without breaking a sweat.”
Lewis Hamilton sweeps away doubts. And on Max Verstappen he says: "He wins without breaking a sweat"
Britain’s Mercedes seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton has given a lengthy interview to the BBC, taken dlla Gazzetta dello Sport, in which he confesses to all his doubts that have plagued his just-completed Formula 1 season but says he still has the will to continue to aim for the world title. He also throws a dig at Max Verstappen. Here are his words.
"When you experience difficult seasons like this, there always comes a time when you ask yourself: 'Is the problem me or è the car? Do you still have a chance? È is it over? '. I'm human, I miss that magic, when I'm one with the car, when that extraordinary spark goes off. The feelings at the beginning of the year were the same as a year before. I had really high expectations, but I realized already in Bahrain that it was going to be a difficult year”.
"We were on the wrong track and there was frustration. I had asked for certain changes that had not been made. Nobody knew exactly where the problem was noré how to solve it. The 2022 experience, however, helped me to be more optimistic. I am sure we will get where we need to go because we now have a north star. We haven’t had that for two years. But getting there will not be a straight line".
"Looking at Max’s lap times and some data, you can see that he è often relaxed. I don't think he sweated a lot during the year. When I was chasing him in Austin, he seemed totally in control. That means he è in an optimal position. He and Red Bull have done an amazing job, they deserve these results".
"Winning the World Championship è a motivation for me to keep going. But there'è also the desire to continue to build something with the team, continue the work of the Mission 44 foundation. And then to organize a Grand Prix in Africa would be great".
"At one point I would not have imagined continuing, the seasons are long, exhausting, I have been living them for 16 years now. It's not easy to stay on top, there's so much pressure. I am always under scrutiny and also at a time in my life when I cannot win. I asked myself if I really wanted to go on, but I still love driving-I have the same enthusiasm as when I started".
