Hamilton discusses how his ‘horrendous’ first title defense differs from Verstappen’s

Max Verstappen is competing for his first Formula One world championship. Lewis Hamilton, his competitor, won his first title in 2008, although he acknowledges it wasn’t always a pleasant journey.

Max Verstappen, according to Lewis Hamilton, is considerably better prepared for his first F1 title fight than he was, with the Briton describing his maiden World Championship “horrendous.”

After nearly missing out on the championship in his first year in the sport in 2007, Hamilton won it in his second season with McLaren in 2008.

This was another a difficult battle; many fans will know the memorable final race in Brazil, where Felipe Massa appeared to have taken the title before Hamilton’s last-lap move on Timo Glock resulted in Hamilton becoming World Champion.

Now that he thinks about it, Hamilton believes that his lack of experience made this a more difficult experience than what Verstappen experienced this season.

“I don’t spend a moment thinking what might or what might not be a distraction for him, that doesn’t bother me either way,” Hamilton said.

“If I do my job to the best of my abilities, I don’t have a problem. That’s how I approach my job.

“My first title? It was horrendous. The journey was terrible, but he’s what, six years in? I was in my second year.

“I didn’t have a great structure around me in terms of management, I didn’t have help to know how to handle all these curveballs sent at me.

“I didn’t have all the experience, I didn’t have all the tools – except the ones in the car – but I was learning all these other tools in order to how to be a great teammate, work with a group of people and help them elevate, and all these kind of things. Which was different for me then.”

Despite the difficulties he faced during this time, Hamilton values how these events helped him grow.

“I’m grateful I’ve had the experiences,” the seven-time World Champion said. “I know how to build my team, I know how to win with my team and I know how to enjoy the ups and downs with my team.”

Hamilton is still fighting for his ninth championship, but he is 12 points behind Verstappen in the standings with five races remaining.

Hamilton remains in the fight for his eighth title, but currently trails Verstappen in the standings by 12 points with five races remaining.

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