Hamilton: 'It took me a long time to put '21 behind me'

F1 News

hamilton reflects on his emotions after silverstone win
8 July at 09:41
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  • Ludo van Denderen

While a hundred thousand mostly compatriots cheered him along the track, Lewis Hamilton cried tears of joy. Winning the British Grand Prix ended a long period without a win, a time when Hamilton had emphatically doubted himself. "I'm not giving up," the Mercedes driver later said, and that finally paid off in his first victory in 2.5 years.

In silence, Lewis Hamilton sat in his car. For minutes, the Briton stared ahead, while Max Verstappen celebrated his first world title a short distance away. How could things go so wrong here in Abu Dhabi on the final lap of this race, was what was going through Hamilton's mind. In hindsight, it appears that the loss of the '21 world title continued to haunt Hamilton's mind for a long time, he confessed at Silverstone on Sunday.

"Honestly, when I came back in 2022, I thought that I was over it. And I know I wasn't and it's taken a long time for sure to heal that kind of feeling. And that's only natural for anyone that has that experience. And I've just been continuing to try and work on myself and find that inner peace day by day."

Hamilton could build on Toto Wolff

Toto Wolff, Mercedes' team boss, is one of the people who has helped Hamilton get his emotions in line in recent years. "It's clear our relationship goes back a long time. And we have, each of us suffered at various stages. And he's been there for me."

"Most recently I've tried to do my contribution to his doubting at times. And that's why it feels really good that he's been able to put all the negative thoughts, all the negativity aside and come up with this performance. And I think it's a weight off his shoulders," Wolff said.

This article is written in collaboration with Sophia Crothall.