Lewis Hamilton reacts to “personal question” - “I don’t want to go into that”
The Mercedes driver was quizzed about saying “I haven’t been at my best for over a year” having claimed his first pole position since 2021 last week in Hungary.
At the F1 Belgian Grand Prix, Sky’s Craig Slater said to Hamilton: “Getting the pole again obviously meant a lot. You said afterwards that maybe you’d questioned whether your own form had fallen off a little bit, in the last year or so.
“I just wonder if at any point in this period have you ever felt you had maybe lost something that you wouldn’t get back?
“Or were you always confident that you could get back to your best?”
Hamilton paused for quite a while before replying: “I don’t know - I think that’s a bit of a personal question and I probably don’t really want to go too much into that.”
He then said: “But I think last year-and-a-bit has difficult with the car that we have had.
“Particularly last year, not finding myself gelling with the car that we had built.
“Therefore, not being able to live at the potential that I know I am able to compete in.
“When you are hindered by the balance, that is similar for so many drivers.
“The goal is to steer the direction of the development so you can eventually show your potential, and what you are capable of.
“I think, through really hard work, we’re starting to get there. You are starting to see that.
“From Monaco onwards, I have had much more consistent performances. The pole position that we had in the last race felt reminiscent of the olden days for me.
“That gives me hope that we’re going in the right direction.
“Hopefully it’s the same for our team.”
Red Bull have been F1’s dominant force since Max Verstappen claimed his first title at the notorious 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Mercedes’ improvements were highlighted by Hamilton’s pole position in Hungary last week, although he lost the lead of the grand prix by the first turn.
James was a sports journalist at Sky Sports for a decade covering everything from American sports, to football, to F1.
