formula 1
Hamilton admits self-doubt: I’m only human
Lewis Hamilton didn’t even have half as many points as world champion Max Verstappen this season. photo
© Darron Cummings/AP/dpa
Failure eats away at the ego of even a champion. It’s no different with Lewis Hamilton. By the way, there’s one thing he doesn’t believe: that Max Verstappen worked up a sweat this Formula 1 year.
“When you have difficult seasons like this, there are always moments where you think: ‘Is it me or is it the car? Do you still have it? Is it gone?’ He was only human, Hamilton said in an interview with the BBC.
After the 22 Grand Prix this year, he took third place in the classification with his Mercedes. He didn’t even get half as many points as Verstappen in first place. Sergio Pérez also finished the 2023 World Cup in the second Red Bull ahead of the 38-year-old Brit.
New Mercedes not good enough
That magic when the moment comes when everything fits together is simply missing, Hamilton admitted: “That’s what you’re looking for.” The Silver Arrow, again painted black, was not a winning car even after a major change during the season when the concept without side pods was adopted. Every now and then there was at least hope that the newly chosen path could promise improvement.
Already in February, during the first kilometers in the new car, Hamilton knew that nothing would happen this year either. In addition, Red Bull achieved a masterpiece with the model for 2023 and Verstappen proved to be practically unbeatable with 19 Grand Prix successes – out of 22 possible.
Hamilton even assumes that Verstappen didn’t even have to give his all in RB 19. “You can go through Max’s lap times and some of the data – he was chilling at the front most of the time,” said Hamilton: “I don’t think he broke a sweat this year.” Hamilton wants to change that next year. The new season starts in less than 100 days. There is enormous pressure on all of them, emphasized Hamilton.