Lewis Hamilton's former teammate reveals the Briton's competitive spirit: "It was a bit embarrassing"

Ever since he joined F1, Lewis Hamilton has been extremely competitive with any and every driver he races against. He not only showed his competitive nature on the track but also when he was out of the car. Pedro de la Rosa, a former Spanish F1 driver who was with McLaren from 2003 to 2009 as a test driver, shared his memories with Hamilton.

He explained how the Briton used to be extremely competitive, even during the team's winter training in Finland. He took every sport seriously and tried to win them all. De la Rosa said:

“Every winter we went to Finland for a week’s training camp. He was so competitive, man. It’s unbelievable. No matter what sport we played, Lewis always had to win, and he was so good at everything. He’s just naturally talented for any sport. If we were climbing, he was the best from the team. Whatever we did, it was, ‘Man, Lewis again winning.’ It was a bit embarrassing."

Furthermore, Pedro de la Rosa humorously stated how tennis was the only sport in which he was able to beat Lewis Hamilton, saying:

“The only sport I beat him in was tennis. It was the only thing I have ever beaten Lewis at, and only in one game, because he realised he had no chance against me, so he never, ever wanted to play against me again.”

Of course, this desire to win in every sport and against everyone propelled Lewis Hamilton to seven F1 world championships. This spirit is still very much alive in him. Even though he is 38 years old, he will be trying his level best to win yet another world championship in 2023.

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F1 commentator feels Lewis Hamilton will not give up easily against George Russell

Johnny Herbert, F1's renowned commentator, recently spoke about how Lewis Hamilton will not let George Russell take his place as the number 1 driver in Mercedes. Even though the seven-time world champion was unable to perform in the 2022 F1 season while Russell bagged his first F1 race victory, he will continue to fight for the top spot.

Speaking to Total-Motorsport.com, Herbert said:

"It’s a good thing, maybe for Lewis, knowing that the pressure is going to be really hot from George. It can be a very positive thing for a driver to know your team-mate is going to be strong, to be pushed. You know you need to up your game straightaway. Lewis has done that in the past but he’s coming to the end of his career."

He further added:

"Things change as you get older and when you have a young whippersnapper coming in, who’s hungry for that success, there is going to be a crossover at some point. Will that be this year? I would be surprised. But I think it’s gonna be a mighty, tight tussle with George very hungry to try and take the reins away from Lewis, who won’t give up very easily as well. That’s what we want."

Mercedes, of course, will be favoring both drivers equally since Lewis Hamilton is the most successful driver in F1's history, while George Russell might be a future world champion and is a brilliant young talent. However, it is safe to say that the Silver Arrows will gradually turn their attention towards Russell.