Lewis Hamilton says he’s learnt to appreciate his role as a team leader as Mercedes struggles to recover from its poor start to life under the current set of regulations.
Mercedes won 15 drivers and constructors world championships in the eight years before the rules were changed at the start of last year, but since then the team has collected just one pole and a solitary victory.
The team expected to rejoin the frontrunning battle after finishing a distant third last season, but this year’s car has offered scant gains on the previous model, and Brackley has no committed to a lengthy redesign that will likely write off the entire season.
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The process has been a test for Hamilton, who is trying to secure an eight world title after being pipped by Max Verstappen in 2021.
But the Briton says he’s embracing the mission to spearhead Mercedes back to the front.
“I don’t feel that there are any mistakes, only lessons,” he told Fox Sports. “I think last year, coming off of a difficult ending of a season (in 2021) — everyone kind of still feeling the previous end of year — motivation, keeping everyone’s spirits high, is [about] how you show up.
“It’s your energy, it’s your mood when you do arrive and how you greet people and how you show the people, ‘Okay, damn, he’s with us today, he’s on it’.”
He said it was important that the team learnt to be honest with itself about its failures.
“You know, I’m not perfect. Some days I’m tired, I’m groggy, I’m not all there, as some people are when you just arrive to your office.
“Showing vulnerability I think is really important, particularly as it’s a very male-dominated sport and a lot of these guys, engineers, don’t show emotion. Whether you’re on a high or a low, they’re calm. But deep down inside they can feel something, and it’s showing them it’s okay to feel that and it’s okay if you’re feeling down. ‘Share it with us; we’ll get there’.
“Just having those conversations with people is something that I’ve really learnt to appreciate. I think I’ve broken through to a lot of people.”
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Hamilton has come a long way off-track since his F1 debut in 2007 as a precocious 22-year-old. His McLaren years were defined by the dizzying highs of his maiden campaign and first title the following year, but he also spent several seasons off the boil as he grappled with his role in the spotlight.
His capacity to respond to adversity is something he’s worked on progressively over his career, starting with the realisation he needed to be less hard on himself.
“It actually took time for me to have to do that for myself, and that’s understanding about self-forgiveness, self-love, which I didn’t have when I was a kid, I didn’t have when I first got here,” he explained. “I was just so tough on myself when I failed, and you fail a million times more than you succeed, so it’s learning how to just forgive yourself and move on.
“I think the bouncing back scenario, particularly when I was younger — if I had a bad race, you couldn’t talk to me for days, I was in such a dark place.
“Being able to recover — the past is the past, five minutes ago; I can’t change that. What I can change is how I move forwards. That was a huge step for me.
“There’s a calmness in the mind that I have now that I didn’t have then. It comes with experience.
“Once I learnt how to do that for myself, then I could do that for others.
“As soon as I was able to do that, then I think particularly through that part last year, the difficult season we had last year, I was able to then do that for those around me, I think, and be like, ‘Come on, guys, this is where we’re going. Get off your arses; we’re going to get there’.
“That for me is even better than the driving part. That’s being a real teammate.”
