Lewis Hamilton says his mental strength is the area he’s most improved since winning his first Formula 1 world championship 10 years ago.
The Mercedes driver, who became world champion for the fifth time this year, says he now believes he can handle whatever the sport throws at him.“I think in 2008 I was still really a kid, I was still maturing,” he said. “I naturally had all the talent that I needed but not really had the stability, the core strength mentally and physically, to take all the different blows from all the different angles and handle them and still stay balanced.
“Now, with age and experience, I’m able to do that. There’s not really anything you can particularly throw at me that I can’t handle. I still have that ability that I had as a kid but I have the mentality side of things particularly and the stability and that centred approach. [It’s] what allows my to drive and handle myself and steer myself through the year the way I do.”
Hamilton believes he’s at the peak of his powers but is wary of the threat which may come from the new generation of drivers in the 2019 F1 season.
“I think to this point in my life, this is the highest point of my career in terms of my own performance, how I perform with the team.
“But I do believe there’s always areas to improve so we’ll definitely look at the season at the end of this year and there’ll always be areas you look at. We didn’t win every single race, some mishaps particularly at the beginning of the year. There’s always room to improve so I expect to do that. That’s my expectation of myself.
“I’ve got to work this winter, it’ll be a slightly amended approach. Of course you’ve got to dig deep, you’ve got these young kids that are coming in, Leclerc going into Ferrari who’s hungry to prove a point. You’ve got Max who’s still hungry to prove a point. And so I’ve got to make sure that I’m still there.”
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MaliceCooper
22nd November 2018, 7:57
He forgot to mention the threat from young Lando? (He might hold him up under blue flags, or sell him out to Darth Vader)
Jere (@jerejj)
22nd November 2018, 10:09
@MaliceCooper LOL.
Fudge Kobayashi (@)
22nd November 2018, 14:26
lmao
Nulla Pax (@nullapax)
22nd November 2018, 9:13
Well to be honest it needed improving.
He used to get very petulant and sulky if he wasn’t at the front. Hopefully he wont revert to that attitude if (when) things start to change.
Markos
22nd November 2018, 11:03
In that picture he looks like Lewis Potter, so I guess he has indeed nothing to fear from anyone. Not even Voldemort.
Aapje (@aapje)
22nd November 2018, 19:38
I do hope he gets that ear infection treated, though. Looks nasty.
Big Joe
22nd November 2018, 11:19
It’s only natural when you’ve had the best equipment for so long. I doubt he’d have improved mentally if he’d stayed with McLaren.
macradar (@macradar)
22nd November 2018, 12:55
Martin Whitmarsh would have made sure of that.
pastaman (@)
22nd November 2018, 13:42
As long as he’s winning…