What are the pivotal moments in Hamilton’s career? The driver reveals all, as he humiliated critics who thought his F1 ‘career is over’
Hamilton discusses key career decision: ‘Pretty much everyone told me to stay’
Speaking with sports journalist Georgie Ainslie in the Performance People podcast on YouTube, Hamilton reflects on his most important decisions which have defined his long F1 career and his motivations behind them.
When asked to pinpoint a standout moment in his career, Hamilton reveals how his decision to move from McLaren to Mercedes for the 2013 season changed his career. “It would have probably been when I decided to join Mercedes. There was a specific time, and I was in Thailand at the time, between the race after Singapore and that’s when I made the decision. I was like, I’m going to take the leap of faith and go with it regardless of what people say.”
The British world champion reflects on the criticism he intially received for his decision, “Pretty much everyone told me to stay, but I went with my gut and my intuition and it was the best thing for me… As a World Champion, I think people were like ‘This is the worst decision you can make, this is not a great team and your career is over.’ All the pundits, all the media outlets, all the fans, everyone was like, ‘Your career is over!’ Then it went well and everyone was like, ‘This is the best decision you’ve ever made!’”
His motivation for the switch came from a hunt for a challenge. “I just loved the challenge. I thought that where I was I didn’t feel like I was being challenged enough. Going into a really uncomfortable position, getting out of comfort zone is what I love to do”
The challenge definitely paid off with the British driver now being the most successful driver in the history of the sport. Although he does not mention his decision announced in February 2024 to move from Mercedes to Ferrari for the 2025 season after 12 years at Mercedes, it is easy to draw links between his motivation for switching teams in both 2013 and 2025.
Hamilton will finish his final season with Mercedes this year before moving to drive for Ferrari in 2025.
Lewis Hamilton has humiliated critics who thought his F1 ‘career is over’
Lewis Hamilton has hit back at his detractors after swapping Formula One teams.
Lewis Hamilton took a big leap of faith to ditch Mercedes for Ferrari next season, but has not been afraid to take risks in the past either after trading McLaren for the Silver Arrows just over a decade ago.
The 39-year-old won his first world championship with McLaren but took a gamble in replacing the retiring Michael Schumacher and racing alongside Nico Rosberg. The move was met with scepticism as the team had little history of success, but the Brit went on to claim six more titles under their brand.
In his first season at Mercedes, however, Hamilton finished fourth in the standings. He claimed that the decision to leave McLaren was slated furiously, only to later receive vindication with his critics left with egg on their faces thanks after landing a further six world championships.
Hamilton was asked on the Performance People podcast what the defining moment of his career was, only for him to explain that the decision to head to Mercedes amid criticism stood out.
“And I was like: ‘I want to take the leap of faith and I’m going to go with it, regardless of what people say.’ Pretty much everyone told me to stay, but I went with my gut and my intuition and it was the best thing for me.
“I was with a championship-winning team. I was with McLaren, which had such a great history.
Obviously Mercedes used to own half of McLaren, and so it was partly their team, but then they broke away and bought their own team and as they were trying to ramp up, they weren’t having a lot of success.
“I think they were the fifth or sixth-best team at the time, so they were often finishing out of the top 10, struggling to get into the top 10.”
Hamilton even explained further that he was told by many that his career was “over” following the switch, only to emphatically prove them wrong.
He added: “As a world champion, people were like: ‘This is the worst decision you can make, this not a great team and your career is over.’
“All the pundits, all the media outlets, all the fans, everyone was like: ‘Career’s over.’ And then it went well and everyone’s like: ‘Oh, it’s the best decision ever made.’”
Eyebrows were raised once again when he blindsided Toto Wolff to leave Mercedes for Ferrari, ousting Carlos Sainz. But if he can eclipse Schumacher and claim a record eighth championship with the Italian outfit, Hamilton will once again prove any remaining doubters wrong.
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