29832b44fa297e1d9829abb35e1c3a74dd362cd7

Lowe: Defeat to Rosberg motivated Hamilton to 'outclass' Vettel

14:30, 01 Nov 2018

byJake Williams-Smith

Williams chief technical officer and former Mercedes executive director Paddy Lowe believes that Lewis Hamilton's defeat to Nico Rosberg in 2016 motivated him to 'outclass' championship rival Sebastian Vettel.

Hamilton wrapped up his fifth drivers' championship in Mexico after a season-long battle with Vettel. After swapping the lead of the championship for the first half of the season, the Mercedes driver found another gear in the second half to dominate much of proceedings as the race to five world titles reached its climax.

Having worked with Hamilton at Mercedes, Lowe said that his rivalry with Rosberg at the team helped him find another level in F1 that has been on full display in 2018.

"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'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 areas 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."