Hamilton: “I always enjoyed being in the hunt” behind an opponent

Present in Paris to receive his 2017 world champion trophy from Formula 1, Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) returned to the invited journalists on the past year as well as his battle with Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari).

The Briton readily admits that this season took place in two stages. First of all, the pursuit of the German leader's Ferrari from the first round in Australia last March. Lewis Hamilton thus spent eleven races as the outsider, behind Sebastian Vettel. “I wasn't worried at that moment,” explains the four-time champion, “in my opinion it would have adopted a negative posture and it could have blocked me mentally. I preferred to stay positive. »

In fact, this challenger position took him straight back to his kart years. “I have always found myself in this situation where I had to catch up with the others, from my first race in karting. My machine was something like ten years old at the time. I used to start my competitions from the back. I have always enjoyed being on the hunt, making up for lost time, as well as the feelings of stress that come with it. When the gap started to rise again, I tried to push the thought away from me. I thought, “At some point this is going to work.” »

Having had to fight off attacks from his teammate Nico Rosberg between 2014 and 2016, Lewis Hamilton wanted a challenge from outside. Wish granted. “It's much more pleasant to fight against an opposing team rather than a teammate. The energy that circulates in the team is so different. There was a force united and focused on a single goal. » The English driver has never lost sight of this goal of world crown, especially after the Hungarian Grand Prix.

On the Hungaroring, the wearer of number 44 had given up his 3rd place before the finish to his garage colleague Valtteri Bottas to respect sporting fairness. “As a team, we did a good thing. Mentally, I absolutely did not want the team to find itself forced to favor one or the other driver for victory. To avoid this uncomfortable position, I knew that there was only one solution to put in place as soon as I returned from the summer break: be in front, at every lap, so that this situation never repeats itself again. » According to the person concerned, it is this state of mind which allowed him to glean five victories in six events at the start of the school year, the secret to success in 2017.