Lewis Hamilton makes surprise ‘enjoyable’ admission despite struggles

He explained: “A thousand times more enjoyable. I remember when I started, my first go-kart was an old kart. It was all bent and buckled and we always had to start at the back with old tyres and that’s what I’ve always enjoyed doing.

“So, starting having those battles, it’s way more fun than starting first for example and pulling away. It’s a different challenge, but I much prefer battling with people.” Hamilton eased to six titles between 2014 and 2020 as Mercedes went through a period of controlling the sport.

However, the Briton has had to work harder over the past two years with his intense battle with Max Verstappen going to the wire last season. 

Mercedes have then struggled this season with the team lacking the outright pace to Red Bull. However, they have closed the gap to Ferrari with Hamilton and George Russell now regularly finishing ahead of the Scuderia.

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Andrew Shovlin, trackside engineering director said: “We hope to perform better in the closing races. The battle with Ferrari for second place gives us a good goal to work towards in the final part of the season, so we’ll be using the next two weeks to prepare as it’s going to be a tough finish with six races in eight weeks.”

Mercedes technical director Mike Elliott also claimed Mercedes were targeting P2 in the championship. However, he expressed Mercedes’ main target was to ensure they are back fighting at the front next year.

He added: “But most of all we want to get ourselves back on track so we are fighting properly for a Championship next year. That’s not any disrespect to our opposition, we’ve got fantastic opposition but that’s what we really need to do because we want to be back there.”