Sir Lewis Hamilton feels he couldn’t have ever tasted World Championship achievement again on the off chance that he had remained with McLaren as opposed to joining Mercedes.
It might appear glaringly evident, given how dominant Mercedes have become in Formula 1, yet the seven-time World Champion accepts his 2008 victory with McLaren was simply truly going to be a one-off anyway long he had stayed with the group that gave him his discovery.
After barely passing up the title in his first F1 season, Hamilton compensated for it the next year on that emotional day at Interlagos. In the following four seasons before moving to Mercedes, the Briton completed fourth twice and fifth twice in the Championship standings.
He was likewise fourth in 2013, his first year for Mercedes, prior to beginning a stream of victories that has just been hindered since by teammate Nico Rosberg in 2016.
McLaren following Hamilton’s departure the team has been on rough roads and he believes he never could have pulled off another title victory had he chosen to stay with them.
In a video interview, Hamilton said McLaren was his family ever since he had been with them from the age of 13. He felt safe at McLaren as he thought he wasn’t helping them build something since they were super-successful in the F1 circuit. Hamilton wanted to build a legacy with all he had learned along with a team and that is when he moved to Mercedes, a team without many trophies. They were building something and Hamilton wanted to be a part of it, which he did and moved in an upward trajectory with the team.
Lewis Hamilton further added he believed the learnings he gained when he was in McLaren can be applied to a team that not’s being very successful. At first glance, it seemed to look like a great risk and there were moments when the Briton felt that he would not win a championship ever in his career.
People commented it has the worst decision Hamilton could ever make in his career when he moved to Mercedes. But since then, he has won seven world titles with the Silver Arrows. Lewis Hamilton concluded by saying when thought in hindsight had he stayed he would be a one-time World Champion after 14 years.
