Right from the first year when he stepped foot into F1, Lewis Hamilton showed that he was destined for greatness. However, former F1 team boss Eddie Jordan did not believe the Briton had it in him. Jordan, who had worked with greats like Michael Schumacher, believed Hamilton did not have the aggressive mindset of a champion.
Frank Worrall in Lewis Hamilton: Triple World Champion quoted Jordan as saying, “Lewis is fortunate to have a well-grounded team with a structure he probably wouldn’t have got anywhere else. But if he needed to do what Schumacher did to [Jacques] Villeneuve or [Damon] Hill, would he do that? You need to do that to win.”
Jordan was referring to the season finales of the 1994 and 1997 F1 championships. On each occasion, Schumacher was locked into the title fight in the season finale. On each occasion, the German legend turned into his opponents while they were trying to overtake him.
In 1994, both Schumacher and Damon Hill retired after the crash and the German won his first world championship. Meanwhile, in 1997, Jacques Villeneuve managed to continue despite damage and defeated Schumacher to clinch the championship.
Hamilton did in fact not show the overly aggressive demeanor that Jordan was referring to during his rookie season. Despite the growing animosity with McLaren teammate Fernando Alonso, the Briton did not attack him at the 2007 Monaco GP. The Spaniard won the race eventually while Hamilton picked the P2 spot.
When told about Jordan’s assessment, Hamilton responded, “I don’t know if I particularly believe that “win at all costs” is the way forward. Yes, we are here to win, so you prepare yourself and you work as hard as you can, but I don’t particularly agree with win at all costs.”
As that season progressed, Hamilton proved his approach could hold its own. And with that, the future seven-time champion also proved his doubters wrong.
How Lewis Hamilton pioneered a new mindset in Formula 1?
Many newcomers often have to wait for years to taste their first victory in F1. However, Lewis Hamilton was lucky not to have to go through that ordeal. The Briton had to wait for just seven races to do that. His first victory came at the 2007 Canadian Grand Prix. Since that season, he won a race every year and that streak lasted until 2021.
During the 2020 campaign, Hamilton won his 92nd race at the Portuguese GP to overtake Michael Schumacher’s tally of 91 victories. That was also the season Hamilton equaled the German driver’s record of seven world championship wins.
The Mercedes ace is 39 now and the primary reason why he is prolonging his F1 career is to win a record eighth title. Hamilton has been trying to break that record for three years now. In 2021, he agonizingly missed it by a whisker. On the other two occasions, he was let down by his own team in terms of the cars they fielded.
Another roadblock and perhaps the biggest is Red Bull and Max Verstappen’s meteoric rise. Therefore, to bag the record eighth title, Hamilton needs Mercedes to give him a car worthy of winning the championship.
