While he’s achieved it all, Lewis Hamilton admits one moment in his Formula 1 career still makes him “nauseous”.
The six-time world champion made the admission as he commented on how he deals with the mental side of F1, admitting he has learnt to accept that not every race will go exactly as he planned it.
“When I was younger, I was hard on myself. Far too hard, if I failed I punished myself and that wasn’t very productive,” he said speaking to an event for sponsor Hewlett Packard.
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“It was hard to break that, but over the years I learned to enjoy myself. That’s the most important thing, that you enjoy what you do. Torturing yourself only brings negativity.”
But there is still one disappointment that haunts him to this day and without it, Hamilton may well be stood here today as a seven-time F1 champion already.
“I lost the title in China [in 2007] and that makes me nauseous to this day”, he admitted, referring to when he slid into a gravel trap on the pit entrance with worn intermediate tyres and had to retire.
Still, there’s no denying Hamilton has more than made up for that day in Shanghai, and while he is now firmly cemented as one of the greatest ever, he insists his motivation is still high to improve.
“Every year you develop yourself and get to know your body and the mental side better and better,” he explained.
“You discover patterns and know how to steer them better. Every year I look back on my season and no race has been perfect.
“The races you learn the most from are the races you don’t win or in which you have failed,” Hamilton concluded.