‘Wow’… Jake Humphrey shares the Lewis Hamilton comment in F1 paddock that showed his ‘self-doubt’

Follow us on Google Discover

Lewis Hamilton may be enduring a difficult 2024 season, but he remains the most successful driver in Formula 1 history. He’s won more races (105) than anyone else.

Hamilton also leads the way for pole positions (104) and podiums (201), as well as a myriad of other categories. His ultimate goal at this stage is to win an eighth world championship, breaking his current tie with Michael Schumacher.

The British driver entered Formula 1 in 2007 and was agonisingly close to winning the title as a rookie. Kimi Raikkonen beat him to the championship by just one point.

But he made amends the following year, overtaking Timo Glock on the final lap to deny Felipe Massa the title. Ferrari engineer Rob Smedley cried ‘uncontrollably’ after the devastating finale.

Hamilton would stay at McLaren for another four seasons but couldn’t add to his tally. As a package, the team and the driver weren’t strong enough to beat Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull.

He took a significant gamble by joining Mercedes, who had finished fifth in the 2012 constructors’ championship, ahead of the 2013 season. But it proved to be a masterstroke as he won six titles in seven seasons between 2014 and 2020.

Lewis Hamilton doubted whether he still ‘had it’ after first Formula 1 title

Speaking to Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff on the High Performance podcast, sport presenter Jake Humphrey shared details of an illuminating conversation with Hamilton back in 2009. He’d just started his role as the face of BBC’s F1 coverage.

Hamilton was coming off the back of his maiden title, and Humphrey asked him about a potential repeat. But the youngster admitted he wasn’t sure if he still ‘had it’.

That ‘self-doubt’ has apparently followed him throughout his career. But rather than damaging him, it’s driven him to improve.

“I remember when I first stepped into the paddock in 2009, and he’d had that great 2008 season,” Humphrey said. “It was the first time I’d met him at a race weekend and I said to him, ‘are you looking forward to fighting for another title?’

“And his answer, straight away, he went, ‘if I’ve still got it.’ And I thought ‘wow’, and I don’t think people realise that self-doubt sits quite high to the surface for Lewis. It’s actually a really valuable tool in his locker.”

Toto Wolff shares what Lewis Hamilton ‘decided’ before 2021 Silverstone crash with Max Verstappen

Elsewhere in the podcast, Wolff also discussed Hamilton’s 2021 title battle with Max Verstappen. He revisited the infamous crash between the two contenders on the first lap of the British Grand Prix.

According to Wolff, Hamilton and Verstappen ‘decided’ they wouldn’t yield, which made a collision almost inevitable. The Red Bull driver speared into the barriers at high speed.

Three years on from the heartbreaking decider in Abu Dhabi, Hamilton sits seventh in the drivers’ championship. He’s never previously finished lower than seventh.

Teammate George Russell leapfrogged him following last weekend’s Sao Paulo Grand Prix. The 39-year-old has been at odds with the W15, and James Allen says it’s ‘very unusual’ that Hamilton has been shunning some Mercedes upgrades.