Rival F1 driver salutes ‘inspiring’ Lewis Hamilton for never ‘playing dirty’ in title battles

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Lewis Hamilton is widely regarded as one of the cleanest racers on the Formula 1 grid. And one of his rivals says he maintains that approach even when the title is on the line.

Hamilton has won around half of his championships in dominant fashion. In 2015, 2019 and 2020, he prevailed by an average margin of 90 points.

The 2008 and 2014 seasons were settled at the final Grand Prix, while Hamilton pulled away from Sebastian Vettel in the second half of the 2017 and ’18 seasons.

He’s also been on the wrong end of two title deciders. Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg held him off in 2016, while Max Verstappen snatched the crown from Hamilton in extremely controversial fashion five years later.

Isack Hadjar says Lewis Hamilton always maintained ‘fair play’ in championship fights

Speaking on the Clique YouTube channel, Racing Bulls driver Isack Hadjar saluted Hamilton for always winning titles with ‘fair play’ and refusing to ‘play dirty’.

Hadjar idolises Hamilton, calling his career ‘extremely inspiring’. The two have grown close during the former’s rookie season.

One notable example that may weaken Hadjar’s case was the aforementioned 2016 Abu Dhabi GP. Hamilton refused to follow Mercedes’ team orders, deliberately backing Rosberg into the pack to try and deny him the podium finish he required.

“I’ll take the example of Hamilton,” Hadjar said. “He never won a title by playing dirty. He always won mano-a-mano, so it’s very fair play.

“Yes, if there’s one guy on the grid who deserves his place and who went for it with his determination, it’s Lewis Hamilton. He always knew how to make a difference.

“Everyone knows his career, he’s extremely inspiring. And on top of that, he’s a really great person.”

Adrian Newey was ‘incandescent’ with Hamilton at the 2021 British Grand Prix after his high-speed collision with Verstappen at the start of the race. Newey felt it was a ‘deliberate professional foul’.

Isack Hadjar highlights the main difference between Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg

In the same interview, Hadjar reflected on the rivalry between Hamilton and Rosberg. He says they ‘can’t stand’ each other these days after their explosive fall-out at Mercedes.

The two drivers had three high-profile crashes in their three years as title rivals. Mercedes were so far clear of the pack that nobody else was in contention.

Hadjar says Rosberg never had the ‘talent’ of Hamilton, but he made up for it with hard work. The 2026 Red Bull favourite wants to combine those attributes in his own career.