Mercedes boss Toto Wolff is glad that his ward, Lewis Hamilton is developing both professionally and personally. He is of the opinion that the Briton has overcome all of the life ‘complications’ that he underwent when he was younger.

So far, Michael Schumacher remains the only driver to have won more drivers titles than the British star. On the other hand, Lewis Hamilton is getting awfully close, having tied with Juan Manuel Fangio last year. In addition to that, he is well on his way to a sixth title in 2019. This is because he leads the championship by 62 points ahead of team-mate Valtteri Bottas.

The 34-year old is considered one of the old guard in F1, and Wolff praised his journey into maturity.

Speaking to the Formula One website, Toto Wolff said, “He’s an integral part of the team and has developed as a racing driver, but even more spectacularly as a human being.”

“When he joined from McLaren, it was for me like a raw diamond in a sense. You could see complications in his life and maybe a lack of stability in understanding what was needed.

“All that disappeared through the Mercedes years. And every year he became a better Lewis and – knock on wood – in the last two, three years we’ve barely seen any mistakes.

“And if they happen, he’s the first one to admit them and that has contributed to our culture of being brutally honest with each other.”

Even outside the world of Formula One, Lewis Hamilton has become a highly influential figure. His off-track hobbies include fashion and music, though some critics often view it as a distraction. However, Toto Wolff has encouraged his driver to establish his own life away from competing.

“We need to stop putting people in boxes, and say ‘this is how a racing driver has to behave’, but simply make the effort to simply try and understand the human behind the helmet, and try to carve out a framework that makes that person the best ‘him’ or the best ‘her’ and make them perform at the very top,” he admitted.

“I believe that Lewis’ various other interests – music or fashion – take his mind off between the races.”

“Having a good time is something I think is very positive and very important for his performance on the racing track.”

“We are very open with each other with what we do. We ‘Facetime’, we send videos and I feel in a very good place with him.”