Former F1 team principal has nothing but praise for Lewis Hamilton

Former Alpine F1 team principal Otmar Szafnauer recently showered praise on Lewis Hamilton.

Hamilton is widely considered one of the best F1 drivers of all time. The Brit started his F1 career with McLaren and instantly found his footing in the sport. In his rookie season itself, he won a race and finished second in the championship. In his second F1 season, he bagged his first world championship.

From 2014 to 2021, he worked hard with Mercedes and enjoyed one of the longest-dominant eras the sport has ever seen. He won six drivers' titles and helped the Silver Arrows win eight consecutive constructors' championships.

Speaking to the media, Szafnauer said that he respected Hamilton's hard-working ethic and the fact that he is an excellent racer, no matter which team he is in or which position he is driving in.

He also recalled how Hamilton was struggling to catch Alpine drivers during the Chinese GP, but still managed to score points.

“The thing I respect about Lewis is he worked super hard and he is a great racer. Doesn’t matter where he is,” Szafnauer said (via PlanetF1)

“I watched the last race [in China] and I think he was behind one of the Alpines and he said ‘I can’t catch him’. And I’m looking at the lap times and I’m thinking he’s right, the lap times are very similar. And where does he finish? In the points. He’s a great racer and he doesn’t give up. The other thing I like about him too is he’s very respectful on the race track” he added.

---

Former F1 world champion feels Lewis Hamilton could bring back glory to Ferrari

Former F1 champion Jacques Villeneuve recently opined that Lewis Hamilton could bring home championships for Ferrari or at least make them strong contenders.

Before the 2024 F1 season began, Ferrari shockingly announced that Lewis Hamilton would join the team and replace Carlos Sainz in 2025.

As quoted by silverarrows.net, Villeneuve addressed other drivers like Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso who joined Ferrari but could not compete or win any championships with them for various reasons. He believed that Hamilton could end the team's long title drought.

“They tried with [Sebastian] Vettel, but Vettel was burnt out by the time he joined Ferrari. Alonso had almost worked out, but it became too chaotic. Lewis could be the one to put that past of Ferrari behind finally,” the Canadian said.

Lewis Hamilton is currently driving his last season with Mercedes and stands in ninth place with only 19 points.