Seven-time Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton has opened up about the immense pressure he feels at Ferrari not from the team but from himself. He stressed setting high standards of performance for himself and also revealed how he shuts out external noise through his social media aversion.
As Formula One heads to Australia this weekend for the season opener at the Albert Park Grand Prix Circuit, the race marks a new beginning for Hamilton in his F1 career with Ferrari. However, expectations from the 40-year-old driver are high, considering his successful past and his quest for an eighth championship title.
Consequently, one can imagine the pressure mounting up on him to perform for his new team. However, speaking in a press conference on Thursday in Melbourne, the 40-year-old driver said that the pressure he faces from himself is “10 times higher.” He told the media:
Clive Mason/Getty Images
“I think always through the years, the pressure that I put on myself has always been 10 times higher than any other pressure that can be put upon me.
“I’ve not joined this team and been made to feel any pressure. I have an expectation for myself.
“I know what I can bring. I know I can deliver. I know what it’s going to take to do that. And it’s just getting your head down and working away. So I come with a very open mind coming in this weekend.”
When asked if he was feeling the burden of the expectations, he said:
“I’m not, because I don’t really read the news and I go for long, long periods of time without social media.
“So I’m not being bombarded with all the stuff on social media, so I’m kind living in my own little bubble in my head.”
Hamilton acknowledged that the new season with Ferrari won’t be easy but stressed that external pressure was non-existent for him. He added:
“[I’m] under no assumptions it will be easy. It is not. I know what I have. I don’t feel the pressure — the outside pressure is nonexistent for me. The pressure is from within and what I want to achieve. I’m not here to prove anything to anybody. I don’t feel I have to do anything, I’ve been here a long, long time and done it time and time again.
“I know what it takes to do a good job and that’s what I want to deliver for myself, my family and for this team that I really believe deserve success. When you see such a large group of people who are clearly so passionate and driven and have maybe not had as much success as they would like or deserve, you just want to work and contribute to doing that.”
