Lewis Hamilton reveals his key F1 attribute which has changed in past 15 years
Fifteen years later, Hamilton is a seven-time F1 champion with more grand prix victories than anybody.
He insists that his first British Grand Prix win in 2008 - earned amid dreadful conditions - was down to “raw ability and talent”.
But he told Channel 4: “As you travel the world and grow older, you learn so much more than you can never know until you get there.
“You can’t even imagine what you’re going to know in 10 years’ time. How much more efficient you can be with your time, how you apply yourself, how you are able to engage with people differently.
“I’m a much better team player than I was back then.
“I am able to galvanise a large group of people, and energy, and channel it. And still, hopefully, have that raw edge talent.
“I would say then I took a lot more risk than I do today.
“Back then I couldn’t comprehend… if I took a risk, I felt how it would impact me, not how it would impact the team of 1,000 or 2,000 people.
“Now I know, the things I do, who it impacts and how important it is.
“So you have to think about the decisions you make with better understanding.”
Hamilton enters this weekend’s F1 Hungarian Grand Prix not only trying to claw closer to the dominant Red Bulls, but possibly even McLaren.
McLaren excelled last time out at Silverstone in their upgraded car and now represent a new test that Mercedes must tackle in Budapest.
James was a sports journalist at Sky Sports for a decade covering everything from American sports, to football, to F1.
