What sets some people apart? Why do some people go on to do great things? For the F1 world, Ayrton Senna’s 41 GP wins were topped by Michael Schumacher, and Schumacher’s 91 were surpassed by Hamilton. Lewis Hamilton has showcased a masterclass many thought impossible. But what is the secret to his greatness? Are successful people just born lucky or is there something else?

Lewis Hamilton has more wins than anyone in Formula 1 history. Some would think it’s a stroke of luck, but only someone who has been the primary witness will beg to differ. Lewis had to start at the back, in life, because of the background he came from. He crossed more hurdles to reach the apex. And not just reach there but sit there comfortably. What is the key factor pushing him that sets him apart?

Speaking to Masterclass, Lewis Hamilton gave an insight into what makes people great. He said, “Failure is 100% necessary for greatness. To achieve greatness, to have that success, you’ve got to fail as many times as possible. So don’t shy away from it,”

” And don’t take it as a negative. Every single successful person who’s achieved great things, whether it’s climbing Mount Everest, whether it’s getting to a top of a company, whether it’s being the best athlete possible, they’ve all failed more times than they’ll be able to remember.”

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This Mantra is perhaps the reason why Hamilton always gets back up, even after the most difficult of circumstances. Adversities aren’t a horror show for the Brit.

Not how you fall but how you pick yourself up

In 2022, Hamilton went through one of the most difficult seasons of his F1 career. For the first time, he went an entire season without a win. Many thought that this was the time for him to call it quits. But employing his learnings from his 16-year-long career, he is aware of the fact that greatness doesn’t work in auto mode.

He said, “Through those lessons that they’ve [great people] learned through those failures, that’s how they’ve become great. No one’s been great from the get-go and then just being great. That’s- except for Superman because he was just born great. So just know that that is a part of the journey. And whatever failures you have are only going to make you stronger.”

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A brand new F1 season begins in a couple of weeks. With Hamilton’s contract extension still pending, what do you think the Knight’s future holds?