Lewis Hamilton is preparing himself for his 5th Formula 1 World title after having won his 4th last time round, following a close battle with Sebastian Vettel all through the year.
The rumour mill had it that Hamilton might retire after his title last season, following the footsteps of his former teammate Nico Rosberg. However, Hamilton has been drawing inspiration from Roger Federer, keeping his motivational levels high enough to be wanting to challenge for the F1 title this time around as well.
Roger Federer’s comeback has been one of the most romantic stories in the history of tennis. He has won 3 grand slam title and has reclaimed that elusive World Number 1 ranking since returning from injury in 2017.
Hamilton believes that if he can keep that ‘inner drive’ high, he too can achieve greatness in the sport and can catch up to Schumacher’s record of 7 World titles.
“I always come back to talking to Roger Federer, but he’s a great example,” Hamilton said.
“He has managed to become the No 1 again.
“He is a happy family man, he is very wealthy, but still he has this tremendous inner drive to reach new heights.
“Maybe that’s really a sign of greatness.” he added.
While Hamilton’s fandom towards Roger is well documented, he has also been driving inspiration from Billy Monger, a young driver who suffered a high speed crash at the F4 British Championship race, forcing him to have the lower part of both of his legs amputated.
Hamilton had later invited Billy to spend time with him in the Mercedes garage at the British Grand Prix.
“For me, Billy is a shining star,” Hamilton added.
“Everyone knows that he has been through difficult times.
“But how he copes with that is very inspiring for me.
“He is very mature for his age, I can only marvel at his attitude, absolutely exemplary.
“His family can be very proud of him.
“This year he [Billy] starts Formula 3 and has given me some details on his race car.
“Billy reminds me a lot of Alex Zanardi, whom I also look up to.
“Zanardi is a fabulous athlete, a very strong personality.
“Despite his setback, he has returned to the competition stage and now has, how many were? Half a dozen Olympic medals won.
“Billy knows exactly what Alex has achieved in his career.
“He has a great future ahead of him and knows that he receives a lot of support.
“I am very happy that he races again.
“I find it unbelievable that he can go on his way despite the terrible accident. We can all learn a lot from people like Zanardi or Billy.” Hamilton concluded.
If Hamilton can do even half of what Federer has done in his sport
