Former three-time world champion Niki Lauda played a key role in bringing Lewis Hamilton to Mercedes. So it is difficult to imagine that Hamilton’s charisma did not impress the Austrian in the beginning.

But this is exactly what happened when the former Mercedes advisor first met the then McLaren driver. He even threw a shade toward the British driver and his then-girlfriend Nicole Scherzinger.

“Today’s drivers have no idea. Now they drive go-karts until 18 and start an F1 career. They never have a chance to develop a personality. The only kind of charisma someone like Lewis Hamilton has is his girl Nicole Scherzinger,” said Lauda to Daily Mirror back in 2009.

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Later on, Lauda clarified why he felt that new-age drivers like Hamilton lacked charisma. He also mentioned that his comments were misconstrued, and the media misunderstood him.

Niki Lauda clarifies his comments regarding Lewis Hamilton

The former Ferrari legend revealed that he was expressing how drivers in modern days were different from the olden days. He pointed out that the cars were so different that they required more natural charisma from the drivers.

“I was misunderstood again. And in any case, charisma doesn’t make you go any faster. Since my time, safety has changed so much. Every year we saw one of our colleagues die on the track; deciding when to brake was an existential question. When you practice sport in this manner, it forms your character in an entirely different way.”

“Now they don’t need to; the computer analysis and judges the errors. That’s why drivers are now getting into F1 four or five years earlier than those of my generation,” said the three-time world champion.

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It was certainly a very controversial take by Lauda on Hamilton, but it is nice that he clarified and gave the context.

It is worth noting that the two world champions became very close when Hamilton came to the German driver. They both guided Mercedes to the top and helped them enter a dominant era until Lauda’s death. The 7-time world champion always keeps Lauda in high regard.