Lewis Hamilton: Dad told me to stay at McLaren
The prodigious Hamilton started with F1 career with McLaren, missing out on the championship by a single point in his rookie year, then claiming his first title a season later.
In 2013 he switched to Mercedes who, at the time, were certainly no guarantee of the glory that would follow.
“I remember the first race, I remember the decision I took to join this team,” Hamilton reflected.
“I didn’t let anybody influence the decision that I took.
“I wanted to make it wholly with my own judgement and no influence.
“You know, there were people that told me that I should stay at McLaren.
“My dad said stay, loads of people said stay.
“But something inside of me told that this was what was right for me.
“I got to the team, had my first seat fit with Bono. People underestimate how long it takes to understand each other, to build up a friendship.
“Especially that first year, I struggled with the car.
“We had a different type of suspension that I’d never had before. We struggled like crazy with it.
“But we did get a win…”
Hamilton’s victory at the F1 Hungarian Grand Prix in 2013 was his first for Mercedes, although he finished fourth in the F1 standings.
“If there was any doubt over decisions, whether I was right or wrong, this was confirmation that it was the right step,” he said of his first win with Mercedes.
“It was great to get back on the podium and to solidify the decision that the team took.”
Hamilton would win the F1 championship in his second season with Mercedes, then would brilliantly win six titles in a seven-year period.
His total of seven titles is the all-time joint record, with Michael Schumacher, but Hamilton dreams of an eighth.
However, aged 38 and in a Mercedes car which lags behind Red Bull, his hopes for this season are bleak.
His contract with Mercedes expires at the end of this season and it looks uncertain whether Hamilton will ever claim the outright record with one more championship.
James was a sports journalist at Sky Sports for a decade covering everything from American sports, to football, to F1.
