Lewis Hamilton's love for winning makes him a better driver season after season, says Mercedes director

Mercedes trackside engineering director Andrew Shovlin recently praised Lewis Hamilton and his work ethic. Though the Briton was unable to win any races in the 2022 F1 season, no one can deny that he is one of the greatest drivers in F1 history. He won seven world titles with Mercedes and dominated the sport from 2014 to 2020.

In an exclusive interview, Shovlin dove deep into Hamilton's mindset and his synergy with the car, saying:

"I’ve worked with Lewis now for a long time and he is a driver who has a really impressive feel for what the car is doing. If you can get the car where he needs it to be, we know far and well what he’s capable of. And, yeah, we’ve worked with each other for sufficiently long enough that we can have whatever conversations need to be had. We all like to think we develop as we go through our careers, and if you knew what you know today 10 years ago, then I think we’d all have been more successful."

The Mercedes trackside engineering director also mentioned how hard Lewis Hamilton works to win every single race and season. Shovlin noted how the Briton kept improving season after season to win the championship by an even bigger margin. It was also revealed that Hamilton always engaged with engineers from every department and kept tabs on how the car was being developed during each season. He said:

"Lewis, as a driver, puts an awful lot of effort into looking for where that edge is going to come from. That constant searching for how he can emerge into a new season as an even better driver than the one that we had before is just borne out of his love of winning. He doesn’t want to be beaten. He’s very engaged with the engineering process now, he’s talking to all [engineering departments] – on the aerodynamics side, and vehicle dynamics side."

---

Toto Wolff 'helping to shield' Lewis Hamilton from F1 and its new rule of banning political statements

Toto Wolff recently shared how he won't talk to Lewis Hamilton about F1 and its new rule banning political stances just yet. The Mercedes team principal wants Hamilton to relax and rejuvenate for the 2023 F1 season and is helping to shield him from anything related to F1.

Speaking to Sky Sports, Toto Wolff said:

"We haven't talked about the political situation because he's in his off-season and I think it's important to shield yourself from F1. This is what I'm very much doing, helping to shield. Once he's back, these things will certainly be discussed with a positive mindset. I think we need to see how this really pans out. We understand that sports are here to not make politics, but on the contrary, unite."

Toto Wolff assures that there will be a healthy discussion with Lewis Hamilton regarding the new rule once the latter returns from his off-season training.