Lewis Hamilton Reveals How He Defied the Odds With Just a Leap of Faith

The youngest World Champion in F1 history. One of the numerous records Lewis Hamilton set while he drove for the McLaren team. He was always a title contender at the Woking-based team. The bond was working.

But he left. Not for another title-challenging team but for a midfield team. No one understood the reasoning behind Lewis’ decision.

Mercedes bought the Brawn GP team in 2010. Brawn had won the title in 2009. But between 2010 and 2013, the new Mercedes team could only manage 4 wins.

His teammate at McLaren, Jenson Button said, “I personally don’t think it is the right decision.”

Former F1 driver Allan McNish said, “I don’t see Lewis winning races in 2013 – and there has to be doubts that the car will be good enough in 2014. And it is easy for a lean couple of years to develop into something longer.”

Cut to 2022, 10 years since that leap of faith, no one would bat an eye in applauding the decision. It was a leap of faith that leaped him to the top rungs. 

On the occasion, Lewis Hamilton said, “It definitely changed a lot in my life… because I’d taken the step and the leap of faith, moving to another team. That went against most of the advice that I had had from people around me, people that you would consider mentors, who all said to stay where I was, stay put.”

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The anniversary comes at a fitting time in Lewis’ career. His struggles on the tracks continue as he approaches the possibility of a first winless F1 season. Could another leap of faith be on the horizon?

Lewis Hamilton is on a mission for 2023

While off the tracks, there have been suggestions for retirement for the driver from Stevenage, but he is taking none of it.

In an interview with Vanity Fair, he said, “I’ll be lying if I said that I hadn’t thought about extending. I’m still on the mission, I’m still loving driving, I’m still being challenged by it. So I don’t really feel like I have to give it up anytime soon.”

He agreed that the result in Abu Dhabi, especially the way things unraveled, he was left distraught.

“I don’t know if I can really put into words the feeling that I had. I do remember just sitting there just in disbelief. And realizing I’ve got to undo my belts, I’ve got to get out of there, I’ve got to climb out of this thing, I’ve got to find the strength.”

“I had no strength. And it was one of the toughest moments, I would say, that I’ve had in a long, long time,” he said.

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Can the mental strain that last season put on Lewis be the reason behind his underperformance this year? Does he need to find his next leap again?