Hamilton did not enjoy his second title-winning year

Seven-time F1 world champion Lewis Hamilton has opened up on his second title-winning year, claiming that he did not enjoy it despite receiving fierce competition from his then team-mate Nico Rosberg.

Lewis Hamilton made his debut at the pinnacle of motorsport in 2007, and displaying an incredible form right from the start of the season, he only missed on the title by a single championship point.

The Briton then went on to beat the Ferrari duo of Felipe Massa and Kimi Räikkönen in the following year to secure his first world championship title in his second season. While he was in contention for the title in the following years, he elected to leave McLaren in order to join Mercedes for the 2013 season.

While many questioned the move initially, his results quickly confirmed that made the right decision. In 2014, he won 11 races compared to his teammate Nico Rosberg’s five to become a two-time F1 champion.

Reflecting on this period, Hamilton admitted that it was not “a great time” for him personally, claiming that Mercedes' utterly dominant form at the start of the new hybrid era meant that he could not compete with rival teams.

"It did. I’ve got feet in two pots about it. Racing is what I’ve always loved since I was a kid. When you’re in karting, you’re all racing wheel to wheel, close with each other."

"In Formula 1, rules come out, things change, one team’s ahead and other teams are playing catch up. And I think, in the moment, it was such a whirlwind so of course I was enjoying it. I was getting to qualify on pole, I was up at the front, we were fighting for this championship and I couldn’t believe that the decision I made was paying off: ‘Wow, it’s really, really happening. This is the right thing for me.’ I was riding this beautiful wave."

"When I look back, I think: was it the most competitive season? I was competing with my team-mate. He was tough to beat, but in general you would always prefer that you’re competing with several teams. That’s what the sport should be doing. More often than not, that’s not the case, but I’m still grateful for it obviously."

The seven-time F1 world champion has revealed that with Ferrari starting to catch up for the 2015 season, he enjoyed his third year with Mercedes better than the previous season.

"I think it was until 2015 that I was really, really able to properly enjoy it. The first one I didn’t enjoy because it was just – I don’t know – it just wasn’t a great time for me."

"The second [title in 2014] was just like: ‘I made the right decision and I proved everyone wrong. Great, so I can sleep. But then the next one felt like: ‘OK, we’re here to stay, this is really [going to mean] something’ – because [three titles is] also what Ayrton won," concluded Hamilton.