Lewis Hamilton has accomplished everything there is to achieve in Formula 1. He has secured seven Drivers’ Championships, helped Mercedes build a dynasty, and propelled the entire sport forward while becoming a global icon.
And this year alone he has returned to the top step of the podium, twice, after a dry spell that left the champion wondering if another victory would ever come his way.
But when you are Lewis Hamilton wins are not the standard, and Hamilton has often been open and — brutally — honest about his performance when it is not up to his own lofty expectations.
Saturday at Monza following qualifying for the Italian Grand Prix is the latest example.
Speaking with Sky Sports F1 following qualifying, which saw Hamilton place sixth after topping the timing sheets in multiple practices and in the early stages of Q2, Hamilton lamented that Mercedes “deserve better” from him.
“That could have been pole,” he told Sky Sports F1. “I think I could have been on the front row, at least on the front row, and I just didn’t do the job at the end.
“I lost a tenth and a half through turn one and two, then I lost another tenth through the last corner. So there’s no one to blame but myself.”
While Hamilton has a pair of victories this season, including an emotional return to the top of the podium at Silverstone, his last British Grand Prix before moving to Ferrari, qualifying has been a thorn in the legendary driver’s side this season. He has yet to capture pole this season, with his best qualifying run coming at Silverstone where he started second.
“Qualifying has been my weakness for a minute now and I can’t figure it out,” he added. “I’ll keep trying.”
“I’ll probably kicking myself a little bit over the next couple of hours,” he said, “and then ultimately I’ve got to move forwards. We have a good race car. The team have done an amazing job this weekend, we really have. “The car’s been feeling so much better than last race.
“And the team deserve better. Maybe they’ll get that with Kimi [Antonelli, the driver who will replace him next season].”
In a sport filled with incredible, and at times brutally honest, personalities Hamilton is at the top of the list. His status as one of the sport’s all-time greats has put him in a position to be open and honest about not just what is happening on the track, but also away from the sport. There is no doubt in my mind that whenever Hamilton decides to step away from a sport that he has given so much to over the years, that the next chapter of his life will be filled with even more incredible accomplishments.
But one of the things that Hamilton has shown over the years, through that openness and honesty, is how even the best in the world at what they do can have moments of self-doubt. Hamilton said as much following his emotional win at Silverstone, where he admitted he wondered if he ever would win again.
His comments today — questioning whether Mercedes would get better from a young driver who put the W15 in the barrier during his first F1 FP1 session — again reflect that willingness to be honest, and that openness regarding self-doubt that creeps into everyone’s mind at one time or another.
Even the mind of a seven-time World Champion.
There are many reasons Hamilton is a champion. But his openness at times like this is more championship-caliber stuff.