Lewis Hamilton has suggested the key difference between himself and Formula 1’s young guns, is he has now developed into a team player.
The past three races have seen the world champion go up against Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc, the two drivers posing the biggest threat to his status as F1’s top dog.
However, what was clear is how Hamilton was more conservative in any wheel-to-wheel battles, in particular going marginally off-track to avoid Leclerc at the last race in Italy.
“Now, the goal is to help the team get the most points and finish as high as possible,” he told a group of reporters on his approach to racing.
“When you’re slightly further back, you’re willing to take a little bit more risk to gain one extra position, and when you’re in the lead, you’re thinking long-term.
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“It’s a subtle difference, but also when you’re younger, you care less in general, you know? Your perceptions are different when you’re younger to when we’re all older.”
An interesting example of this is how Hamilton has integrated at Mercedes, becoming much more involved at all levels, particularly since the departure of Nico Rosberg after 2016.
“When you’re 21 to where you are now, so now I’m in the car, I’m thinking of how much space I have to give each driver, I’m thinking of the fact that I have 2000 people who make my car and they rely on me to make the smart decision and not be selfish,” he continued.
“Don’t try to get that extra one spot which would be good but it comes at a cost of potentially losing the team the Constructors’ Championship.
“I think as I got older I’ve become more of a team player, more of an understanding of ‘you can’t win them all’.
“As a kid, you’re like ‘no, I have to win every single one!’ but now I understand that it’s a long game, it’s a marathon, not a sprint and that philosophy for me, I didn’t know that when I was 21 or 22 years old.”
