Hamilton and Co.
Tormenting co-driver: self-doubt among Formula 1 stars
Even Lewis Hamilton and Lando Norris doubt themselves. Photo
© Denes Erdos/AP/dpa
Helmet on, visor down – step on the gas. No time to think. It’s not that easy in Formula 1. Self-doubt plagues even the greatest. How does someone who wants to reach the top deal with that?
“I don’t know if I’m ready, to be honest, because I’m still learning a lot in Formula 2. I still make quite a lot of mistakes,” Mercedes junior Antonelli recently admitted, expressing doubts about whether he’s ready for the promotion next year. “These few details are really important. I’m still not doing them right. I’m still not doing everything right.”
Antonelli is only 17 years old, but is already considered a future Formula 1 star. Perhaps he is even of a similar class to the former prodigy Max Verstappen, who has matured into a three-time world champion. The Italian skipped Formula 3 and is driving in Formula 2 for Prema this season. Antonelli has even won races in Silverstone and Budapest. But perhaps becoming the successor to future Ferrari driver Hamilton in 2025? That’s something to swallow.
“We sometimes like to forget how stupid we were when we were 17,” said Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff (52) about Antonelli’s self-doubt. “I can clearly say that my lack of maturity would never have allowed me to make clear decisions in such a competitive field.” Antonelli should develop calmly, as well as possible when the entire motorsport world is watching. “I want to see him make mistakes and learn from them,” said Wolff.
“Is it because of me?”
Hamilton also knows self-doubt – and that as a seven-time world champion. After the dramatic 2021 World Championship season, when he lost his eighth world championship title to Verstappen in the final kilometers, it took 945 days until the British Grand Prix this year before he won a race again. His now 104th.
“When you have a difficult season, there are always moments when you ask yourself: is it me? Or is it the car? Do I still have it? Or is it gone?” said Mercedes superstar Hamilton. “When the magic happens, when everything comes together, the car and you, and then the spark jumps, then that’s extraordinary. That’s what you’re looking for.”
Despite his records, Hamilton is not a galactic who can simply turn off his inner voice. “I’m only human,” said the 39-year-old about self-doubt. “If anyone in the world claims that they don’t have such things, then they are denying them. We are all human.”
Norris shows his haters
His fellow Englishman Norris is almost considered a master of the often tormenting introspection. The 24-year-old is often gripped by feelings of impostorship: he doubts his own professional performance and fears being exposed at work. “I’m so shit sometimes,” Norris once admitted with brutal honesty towards himself.
It was only in May of this year that Norris was able to celebrate his first Grand Prix victory – and was happy to have shown it to his haters on social media. This at least lifted some of the burden from the McLaren driver. “Lando is an honest person in every kind of relationship, including that with himself,” said team boss Andrea Stella about Norris, who is hard on himself. “But I’m sure that he will continue to refine that over the years.”
Self-doubt certainly has a place in the cockpit, and is also fuel for the driver. It’s just a matter of not letting it limit the driver’s ego too much. Michael Schumacher knew this too. He contested his first Grand Prix in Belgium in 1991, celebrated his first victory there in 1992 and also experienced his last World Championship triumph there in 2004.
“Self-doubt is absolutely and always important. I constantly doubt myself, it has always been like that. You have to constantly question yourself in order to be able to develop further and learn,” said Schumacher, who has lived shielded from the public since his serious skiing accident at the end of 2013. “That applies everywhere in life, and even more so in our world – because Formula 1 is synonymous with development.”