“I didn’t know how to manage everything”– Lewis Hamilton talks about his different experiences with various teammates in his career.
Lewis Hamilton had some hostile relations with his previous teammates until things were pretty stable with Valtteri Bottas, to whom the Briton termed as the best teammate ever.
Speaking honestly about his previous teammates and why his experiences with them differed from what he describes with Bottas, Hamilton explains that he was in various stages of his life.
“Honestly, it depends on the moment of my life I was in. When I was just a kid I met Alonso, I was enthusiastic and talented, but I didn’t know how to manage everything,” said Hamilton to Sky Italia.
“Then I found myself in different positions with Kovalainen, with Jenson (Button, ed) and with Nico (Rosberg, ed). I learned different things from each of them.”
“Each was a challenge, you can never ignore your teammate because you will learn from him or vice versa. Mistakes can be made. I wouldn’t change anything about my journey alongside them, for better or for worse.”
The balance was with Bottas
Hamilton further claims that with Bottas, his communication was excellent, allowing his team to win four constructors’ titles seamlessly under the same partnership.
“I recently commented on my current teammate and said he was the best teammate, but you have to see what this definition means. We are in a sport where we try to win two different championships, said Hamilton.
“We both try to win the drivers ‘title, but our job is to win the constructors’ title too, so we have to work together. For the first time I had a teammate with whom I really communicated. “You know I felt this …”, “I had this feeling” ..”
“Without hiding anything from us, trying to improve each other, helping each other to be our best version. It had never happened with other pilots before. It is something unique. And as a human being, it’s fantastic, once you get off the track you talk like a gentleman. No tricks.”