"I was at the mercy of.." - Lewis Hamilton lists major changes in his career that came with experience

Lewis Hamilton believes he has come a long way in F1 and does not have to be at the mercy of the engineers in his team when it comes to car development direction. This, according to the seven-time champion, is unlike his early days in the sport.

Lewis Hamilton made his F1 debut for McLaren back in 2007 and since then, has rewritten the sport's record book almost single-handedly. Now in his 17th season, the Briton is a seven-time world champion with 192 podium finishes, 103 wins, and 103 pole positions to his name.

However, Hamilton acknowledged that none of this came easy and that he had to adapt to F1 in more ways than one. In a recent interview with Fox Sports, the 38-year-old outlined how experience and time played their part in molding him as a driver.

"The physicality side of it, how you eat, how you prepare, time management, understanding of tyres... I understand the car so much more now than I did when I first got here, for example. I was at the mercy of the engineers around me. I couldn't dictate a huge amount. I couldn't say, 'Hey, guys, this is the direction we need to go.'"

Hamilton went from being a young man trying to do as he was told by engineers to giving insight and information that determined their next moves. He went on to add:

"I can do that now. I know what I need in the car in order to do what I need to do, in order to be able to extract my performance and the performance of the car. So there [are] a lot of areas [where I have changed], and then there's a calmness in the mind that I have now that I didn't have then, so it comes with experience."

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Mercedes boss Toto Wolff will have no hard feelings if Lewis Hamilton leaves the team

Lewis Hamilton may have to move to a new team to revive his chances of winning an eighth title

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has admitted that he will have no hard feelings if Lewis Hamilton were to leave the team for a shot at winning his eighth Drivers' World Championship title.

Hamilton took a leap of faith when he joined Mercedes from McLaren in 2013, and the gamble paid massive dividends for both parties. Since then, the Briton has claimed 77 pole positions, 82 wins, 143 podiums, and six of his seven world championships with the Silver Arrows.

However, it has not been smooth sailing for him and Mercedes since the regulation changes were introduced at the start of the 2022 F1 campaign.

Lewis Hamilton went without a single win or pole position in a season for the first time since his debut in 2007 while struggling to tame the Mercedes W13 last year. The situation does not appear to have been remedied with this year's W14, which is not seemingly in a position to challenge the Red Bull RB19 for wins consistently just yet.

Hamilton is also in the final year of his contract with the team. Wolff does not think the driver will walk away just yet but has revealed he will have no qualms if he decides to seek greener pastures when that deal runs out.

In an interview during the 2023 F1 Saudi Arabian GP weekend, where Sportskeeda was also present, the Austrian said:

"I don't think that Lewis Hamilton will leave Mercedes. He's at the stage of his career where we trust each other. We've formed a great bond among each other. We have no reason to doubt each other even though this is a difficult spell. So nice it will be when we come out of this valley of tears and come back to solid performances."

Wolff went on to add:

"As a driver, if he [Lewis Hamilton] wants to win another championship, he needs to make sure that he has the car, and if we cannot demonstrate that we can give him the car in the next couple of years, then he needs to look everywhere - I don't think that he's at that stage but I would have no grouch if that happens in a year or two."

Wolff has also hinted that the team is keen to extend Lewis Hamilton's deal and keep him paired with George Russell going forward. However, it may not be that elementary given the seven-time world champion's ambitions on track and the massive salary he may hope to command off it.