Marc Priestley was fortunate enough to work alongside Lewis Hamilton when the British driver burst onto the F1 scene in 2007. Priestley was a key member of McLaren’s pit crew and, thus, closely worked with Hamilton. Besides the sporting side of it, Priestley also got to know about Hamilton’s mindset as an individual in both his personal and professional lives. In an exclusive conversation with The SportsRush’s Tanish Chachra, the 47-year-old highlighted some of the traits of the seven-time champion’s mindset, especially about his musical journey and some other hobbies off-track.
Priestley told an anecdote about Hamilton’s initial years and how he wanted to learn to play guitar. Priestly stated, “He (Hamilton) was very obsessive about the things that he wanted to achieve. He decided that he wanted to learn to play the guitar.”
Highlighting Hamilton’s proactive and obsessive mindset, Priestley revealed how he asked McLaren to carry a guitar in freight so that the British driver could learn to play. Priestly then added, “He’d have it in his hotel room and when he had few moments to spare, he’d learn to practice some [guitar] chords.”
Priestley mentioned that he was always fond of Hamilton. The McLaren pit crew member cited that he would use his learnings from Hamilton’s mindset in his podcast – Pitlane Life Lessons. About Hamilton’s mindset traits, Priestly highlighted how the 39-year-old “sets his mind to something, [and] he will not be happy until he’s the best at it.”
This revelation explains Hamilton’s unprecedented on-track success in F1. Even off the track, the current Mercedes driver is keen on learning new things and Priestley cited a few more examples of it besides playing guitar.
Hamilton has learned surfing and skydiving and Priestly cited that he is “unbelievably good” at it. The reason is the 39-year-old’s obsessive drive for excellence.
Marc Priestley saw signs of Lewis Hamilton’s future success in his mindset and work ethic
Marc Priestley highlighted a few more anecdotes that showcase Lewis Hamilton’s professional work ethic. Priestly mentioned how the British driver is one of the last people leaving the garage on Friday nights during a race weekend.
Like many peer drivers such as Sebastian Vettel, Hamilton would study data to fine-tune his car setup and understand where he can extract more pace. All that data analysis, those conversations with engineers, and additional work on weekends made Hamilton stand out, according to Priestley.
It was this obsessive mindset and professional work ethic that Priestly claims paved the way for Hamilton’s successes. Back in Hamilton’s rookie year, no one knew how big a star he could become, claimed Priestley.
Still, when Priestly goes back in hindsight to understand the mindset of a champion, the 47-year-old doesn’t feel ‘surprised’, looking at all of the #44 driver’s success and records. Coming back to some of the off-track aspects, Priestley went on his wild imagination about the perfectionist that Hamilton is.
Priestly cited, “I imagine when he is loading his dishwasher at home, he does it in the most perfect and efficient way possible”. Priestley highlighted these routine activities, even though they are minuscule examples, to point “That’s the kind of guy he [Hamilton] is, and it translates from every aspect of his life into Formula 1”.
Priestly was happy to mention how he conveys these traits of the seven-time champion in his podcast as life lessons. These lessons most likely help people to understand the nuances of a world champion racer’s mindset and how they can take inspiration from Hamilton.
