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Lewis Hamilton’s Race Engineer Reveals Mercedes Driver Wasn’t “Polished” at the Start

Published 11/16/2020, 5:23 AM EST

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via Reuters

Who would have thought that back in 2014 when Lewis Hamilton replaced Michael Schumacher at Mercedes, he would go on to win 6 Drivers’ Championship titles with them? Yet, here we are, the incredible Hamilton has managed to equal the legendary German’s record in Turkey.

The Briton always had the talent and the skill, but he seemed to unlock something special with the Brackley-based outfit. His development has, quite frankly, been amazing, both on and off the track. This is something Lewis’ long time race engineer, Peter Bonnington, alludes to as well.

Bonnington recalled his first time meeting Hamilton and spoke about the man he was back then in 2014. He said, “It felt like he was a rockstar walking in. Looking back at the pictures, you just think, wow, this is Lewis.

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via Reuters

“Michael, such a legend, a great driver to have worked with, then Lewis comes along and you think this is the next breed. He is here, and he’s the rockstar, and I’m the one in charge.

“Back then, he wasn’t quite as polished as he is now. Now, just today, wow.”

Peter Bonnington continues to be surprised by Lewis Hamilton to this very day

The newly crowned 7 times world champion continues to rack up win after win and break record after record. As he continues to dominate the F1 grid, many tend to undermine his achievements or rather fail to be surprised with whatever he achieves. Bonnington, however, is not one of those people.

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via Reuters

He said, “Nobody could not be surprised by that performance. We know he has it in him, but when he delivers, you just think wow! I didn’t see that coming. I’m optimistic, but I didn’t see it happening just like that.”

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Yesterday was certainly not the last time that Hamilton would surprise people. Although he hasn’t yet signed a new contract for next season, one can be rest assured that Hamilton will be on the grid next year with the Silver Arrows, continuing to rack up wins.

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However, the current season is still far from over. With another three rounds to go, Hamilton would be aiming to end his special season with a trifecta of wins. Can anyone, or any weather condition stop him?

 

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Written by:

Ronan Carvalho

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Ronan Carvalho is senior F1 author for Essentiallysports. Ronan is currently pursuing his Journalism degree from St. Xavier's College.
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