After Mercedes’ dominant eight-year run (2014-21) in Formula 1, in which Mercedes won six world championships – and lost in the same way in 2021 – Lewis Hamilton has not had a GP victory since the Jeddah race at the start achieved December 2021.

During these two years, the British F1 record holder had to cope with difficult racing and mental conditions, with two Mercedes cars (W13 and W14) that were clumsy, difficult, difficult to understand, unstable in their performance and tuning and almost always uncompetitive were against the dominant Red Bull.

All of this came after he had to deal with the fallout from the problematic and scandalous handling of the 2021 Abu Dhabi GP events by the FIA ​​and then GP race director Michael Massi, which stripped him of the title that gave him the title would have been the only eight-time champion in his historic sport.

Lewis – who will remain in Mercedes Formula 1 until at least the end of 2025 – commented on all of this in two different interviews in the last few days – one open and one in the German magazine Auto Motor und Sport. Let’s see what he has to say about seven different aspects of his current Formula 1 condition:

If he has had moments of doubt about his abilities over the last two years: “Of course. I’m human too. If anyone in the world says they don’t experience things like this, they’re simply in denial. We’re all human. I imagine that in difficult years like these, there are always moments in that make you wonder, “Is it my fault or is it the car’s fault?” I still have [την ικανότητα]; Or have I lost her?’ Because you miss those moments where the magic happens. When everything comes together, the car and you, and you feel that spark, it’s a rare and extraordinary moment, and that’s what you’re constantly looking for.”

For being winless for two years F1: “I think this is a misunderstanding. When I was younger, I also had bad years as a child. In 2009 the car [της McLaren] It was terrible. We got a win this year because we improved it for the second time this season. And then we didn’t have great years in 2010/11 either. One year from a personal perspective due to my own fault, the other because the car wasn’t often that impressive. So it’s my biggest dry spell in terms of success, but if you take those victories with you [η τελευταία διετία] It was similar to those years.

About the thoughts of leaving her F1 after Family doctor Abu Dhabi 2021: “There definitely was, yes. There were so many things going through my mind at the time. But I think one of the worst things you can do is make decisions based on emotions, because when you’re in the heat of the moment you won’t make the right decisions.

The emotions I had were very strong, it was a very, very difficult time. So I had to wait until the situation calmed down, until I had a clear head and could make the right decisions. I left and went to a beautiful place in Hawaii with my family and my nieces, and there I felt calm and content and felt like I just wanted to get up and move on.”

For her Mercedes W15 from 2024: “With limited resources these days (note: due to each team’s budget limit), you can’t just throw everything in the trash and start over. You can’t copy it Red Bull – The Aston Martin I tried it and found that the copy is not the original. But I am convinced that we will get where we want to go.”

On the departure of Mike Elliott and the return of James Allison as technical director Mercedes F1: “First of all, I have to emphasize that it was not my fault that Mike left. But we are all part of a team in which the puzzle pieces have to fit. James has leadership qualities that I have probably not seen in any other engineer I have met. He stands in the front row with the sword and explains to everyone how to walk through the fire.

For his decision to stay F1 in the 40th year of life: “I couldn’t imagine it before. The years are getting longer and I’ve been here for 16 years. It is exhausting. And back then it was normal to win, [όλοι έλεγαν] He is a seven-time champion and has won 103 GP’. There were definitely times when I questioned whether I wanted to continue going through all of this. But now the smaller victories motivate me, for example to take the car one step further together with the team.”

I think I learned a lot [τα δύο τελευταία χρόνια] about my mental state and how I stay calm and positive by adding new tools to my quiver so I can keep doing what I do. I’m 38, almost 29 years old, and I feel great in my body. This is due to specific methods that I have developed over the last two years. And the way I managed my time outside of racing, I think I was able to manage my energy and focus much better. I have the best group of people around me ever.

About when he imagines he can leave this Formula 1: “Honestly, I have no idea. It can come on suddenly and suddenly I’m unstable. Or switch to another role. But at the moment I still really love racing. As soon as that smile leaves my face, I immediately roll as I walk [με το μονοθέσιο] In the pitches I’ll know it’s time to stop. But I hope that never happens.