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Former Mercedes Executive Director Paddy Lowe says that Lewis Hamilton was motivated after losing the title battle in 2016 to Nico Rosberg. The two were entangled in a fierce rivalry for three years before Rosberg called it a day on his career after winning his championship.
Hamilton has won the two following championship fights against Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel. Last Sunday, the Briton was crowned a five-time world champion, joining the ranks of Juan Manuel Fangio and Michael Schumacher.
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"I think he’s driven two terrific seasons. Two of his strongest seasons of all these last two years. The 2016 year was one he didn’t win and he probably believes he could have won it so that was a good motivation for him to understand how to strengthen his game. And we’ve seen that the last two years.”
He continued: "He’s become a very difficult driver to beat. We’ve seen Sebastian has struggled to beat him this year. There have been losses in all sorts of different area but even just as a driver matching I think Lewis has outclassed Sebastian.
“That’s been one of the mismatches, there have been other mismatches in terms of the teamwork. One team has performed better than the other team top to bottom. But on top of it all is Lewis who’s just a phenomenal driver."
And Lowe now believes he is forever written into the record books: "I think he will be seen to be one of the greatest in the sport in due course. It’s difficult to compare across eras but he’s got to end up on your fingers of one hand of the best drivers in that category, the top five.”
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Replies (4)
Login to replymcbhargav
Posts: 1,332
The improvement to Hamilton's performance came from the lack of Rosberg in the other car. However, I agree that, Vettel commits more unforced errors than Hamilton.
ajpennypacker
Posts: 2,475
I all honesty, I think Lewis has gotten better. Mostly in his head. He used to have some serious dips in performance mid-season. Usually as a result of some bullshit happening in his personal life which he allowed to affect him on track. That seems to be in the past and it shows in his consistency. Also, while I think Nico Rosberg was pretty lucky to beat Lewis in 2016, you can't argue that he didn't do exactly what was needed to get in Lewis' head and hit him where it hurts. The reliability issues with Lewis were just the last nails in the coffin.
Norbert
Posts: 108
"The 2016 year was one he didn’t win and he probably believes he could have won it..."
Yeah, no guff. Most people aren't motivated by failure but boyo, that would be a good trait to have.
sadosalo
Posts: 198
Over the top comments Paddy, yes Hamilton is a excellent driver, driving the best car and Bottas is an good team player that helps. Think about it Nico Rosberg beat him 2016 not in my top 10 best ever. Hamilton is a God wisperer & now a vegan and does not drink, makes sure we all know. For next year expect LeClerc to give him a hard time, go Ferrari, go.