Mercedes F1 Insider Reveals Lewis Hamilton's Driving Force That Will Benefit Ferrari
Mercedes trackside engineering director Andrew Shovlin has opened up about Lewis Hamilton's fear of losing, which has been his driving force in winning seven world championship titles throughout his Formula 1 career. Shovlin revealed that there was no other driver he came across with as huge a level of commitment as Hamilton due to his "phobia of losing." This quality of the Briton could also benefit Ferrari next season as he moves away from Mercedes after a 12-year-long association.
Shovlin worked closely with Hamilton over his successful F1 journey with the Brackley outfit that saw six drivers' championships and eight constructors' titles. Despite holding the highest number of championships alongside Michael Schumacher, Hamilton hasn't stopped there and is determined to secure his eighth title with Ferrari. It is likely that fear of losing his last few crucial years in the premier class in Mercedes's challenging car might have pushed him to take a leap of faith.
Speaking on this unique quality of Hamilton and explaining how it was to work with a multi-world champion, Shovlin told The New York Times:
"Well, there are no other drivers like him, so you could definitely say he is unique, from that point of view.
"He's good fun to work with. He's committed to success, as we all are, and in a team, that's what you would ask of everybody.
"But Lewis has got his own, it's almost like a phobia of losing that drives his work ethic. And that's great, because when you get a driver who brings that to the team, they are endlessly pushing, endlessly wanting to improve. And it brings an awful lot of energy to the team."
He added:
"He's the only driver I can think of that I've work with where it manifests itself to such a degree. No good drivers like losing, they all hate it. That's absolutely standard.
"It is the work and the worry that that triggers within Lewis that I think sets them aside from most others."
Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur stated that his team has reached a crucial point where it requires Hamilton's attention to detail and his strengths to take their challenge to the next level, especially after narrowly losing the Constructors' Championship to McLaren by just 14 points this season. He said:
“We are in the situation that we are fighting for details that average on the grid, the car in front of us is three hundredths of a second faster.
“At the end [of 2024], you are fighting for 14 points in the championship. It’s one DNF from the season, or it’s one strategic decision, or whatever – it means that every single detail will make the difference.
“And Lewis is coming with a huge experience, a huge experience of championships, of the background from Mercedes, or, let’s say, certitude on himself, and this will help the team to continue to grow up and to improve step by step.”