Lewis Hamilton success born from a "relentless urge to keep winning"

Mercedes

Hamilton success born from a "relentless urge to keep winning"

Hamilton is statistically the most successful F1 driver of all time

Sam Hall

Thursday 8 April 2021 18:00

Mercedes trackside engineering director Andrew Shovlin has described the qualities that position seven-time Formula 1 world champion Lewis Hamilton above the rest.

Since joining Mercedes in 2013, Hamilton has etched his name firmly into the history books scoring more wins, pole positions and podiums than any other driver.

The continued success of Hamilton, claims Shovlin, is down to a "relentless" willingness to learn.

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Asked to identify areas Hamilton had grown as a driver since joining the Silver Arrows, Shovlin told the 'Beyond the Grid' podcast: "It’s not one area, it’s the fact that every time he doesn’t win a race he goes and works out why he didn’t win it and why, the next time that happens, he will win it instead of whoever else did.

“It’s this relentless understanding and improving process that he goes through that I think must be quite exhausting because it never really stops.

"He just keeps getting better and better and he’s already broken all records but to see a driver who has achieved so much still working for every win like it’s their first, which is really what he does, you can see why he is where he is.

“It is down to hard work, dedication and just this relentless urge to keep winning.”

Mercedes' chief strategist James Vowles also pointed to Hamilton's "never give up" attitude and reflected the Briton will never concede defeat in a fight.

He added: “There are so many races that all of us have been privileged to have with him where he is not the lead car out of the two and he is the one fighting tooth and nail at the back and you know he will give everything to you.

“He’s not going to back off, he’s not going to give ground. He may be frustrated and upset that you’ve made a mistake and put him into a situation that is difficult but he delivers on it and that is what he has done in all the time that we have been with him.”