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Lewis Hamilton believes he was "very immature" during his late teens, a time when he was knocking on the door of Formula 1.
The Briton made his F1 debut in 2007 with McLaren, riding on the back of consecutive title success in the Formula 3 Euro Series and the GP2 Series.
However, in the mid-2000s, Hamilton believes that he had a very immature attitude towards working as part of a team, which is something he believes he has come to rectify.
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In 2019, the 34-year-old clinched his sixth F1 world title to place himself in a clear second place on the all-time championship tally list behind Michael Schumacher.
Hamilton enjoyed an impressive 2019 campaign in which he took 11 race wins, but doesn't believe that he did things much differently to 2018.
"I don't think it's different," Hamilton said when asked what the difference was between 2018 and 2019. "My memory might have got worse over time and generally, most often, I'm confused with the now.
"If I go and watch the races, I'll remember exactly what happened in the race, but again I never really get to do that.
"The 19-year-old me was very immature and generally lacked a lot of knowledge of the ways of the world, and what it means to be a great team player.
"I had limited knowledge of that, so naturally, if I knew what I knew now as I knew then, I would have been pretty awesome back when I was 19 years old.
"I've grown a huge amount in that time, which is natural. I'm pretty sure that's the same for everyone."
Hamilton will enter the 2020 season on the last year of his Mercedes contract, having signed an extension during 2018.
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Replies (4)
Login to replyxoya
Posts: 583
Well, who is mature when 19 years old?
calle.itw
Posts: 8,527
As someone who, through work, frequently interact with people born after 2000, I'd say a surprising amount.
xoya
Posts: 583
There are people who reason very well and are above average, but truly mature? I am sceptical.
To be fair, I am an IT engineer, so I am not the best judge of character. :)
ajpennypacker
Posts: 2,475
Lewis was average in terms of maturity off track. Still is. On track he's always been beyond his years. All the drama about him is because of his antics off track. Had it been a more low profile driver the drama wouldn't have been as significant. That being said, his brand wouldnt be a fraction of what it is without all the drama