Lewis Hamilton pinpoints key trait which enabled return to winning races

Lewis Hamilton has outlined the crucial personality trait which allowed his return to winning ways.

Hamilton’s glory at the F1 British Grand Prix at Silverstone was his first triumph since 2021, when Max Verstappen’s era of dominance began.

Hamilton then also won in Belgium, after initial winner George Russell was disqualified, meaning he has been victorious in two of the past three grands prix.

“It’s been mostly a battle of the mind,” he told Esquire about his two-year battle in an under-performing Mercedes.

“Keeping yourself sane, trying to pick up new tools.

“Ultimately, it always comes back to persistence and dedication. Hard work. It always does eventually pay off.

“I think I learned that life is really about how much pain you can experience and keep going, and how much you can suffer and keep moving forward, you know? And that’s life, right?

“It’s not how you fall; it’s how you get up. It’s how you continue to apply yourself every single day. It’s how you connect with people that you work with.

“I probably learned to be a better teammate in this period of time, because we’ve had more time to focus on communication.”

Finally, Hamilton returned to the top step of the podium at his home race.

It was a remarkable ninth victory in F1 at Silverstone.

“Everyone was talking about it being this fairy tale,” he said.

“And it really, really was unexpected. Going into that weekend, I had no idea that that was going to be possible.

“And it had been such a long time. So many thoughts cross your mind. Some of them you start to potentially believe in, bit by bit.

“And finally, I had that day when I was able to excel, and we excelled as a team, and it just kind of shuts that all down.

“And it helps you rebuild again. So it was really great to be able to do it at home, in my home country, with my family around.

“The last race in Mercedes at Silverstone. It couldn’t have been more magical.”

Hamilton has signed a contract to move to Ferrari in 2025.

That decision to unite F1’s most successful driver with its most successful team has taken an interesting twist with Mercedes’ resurgence.

Currently, with Hamilton’s two victories and Russell’s win in Austria, they are the closest competition to Red Bull and are driving a far more competitive car than Ferrari.