Lewis Hamilton is undoubtedly one of the best drivers in the world. But the toughest job in F1 is to be teammates with the seven-time world champion. Hamilton’s first teammate Heikki Kovalainen shares his experience driving alongside the Brit.
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Nico Rosberg is the only driver so far who defeated Hamilton as a teammate. Besides Rosberg, Jenson Button was the only driver who pushed the Brit to the extreme, although failed to win the championship. Also, Valtteri Bottas and Fernando Alonso are among the very few drivers who could drive alongside Hamilton.
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Kovalainen on his world champion teammate
The 34-year-old began his F1 career 16 years ago with McLaren. There he partnered alongside the two-time world champion Alonso. But both the drivers got into constant clashes and the tension grew further in the team, which only lessened after Alonso left the team.
ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES – NOVEMBER 22: Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain and Mercedes GP (L) and Fernando Alonso of Spain and McLaren F1 (R) talk in the Drivers Press Conference during previews ahead of the Abu Dhabi Formula One Grand Prix at Yas Marina Circuit on November 22, 2018, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images)
After Alonso, the Finnish driver, Kovalainen joined Hamilton as his new teammate. The Finn stood little against the Briton during the McLaren days. Further, Kovalainen revealed it’s a tough job to drive alongside the seven-time world champion. The Finn isn’t wrong cause there are only a few drivers who could compete against him as teammates.
Kovalainen said, “You can only do so much stretching and then you run out of energy and that was the case with me, I didn’t have enough margin in my capacity to do the times and the races that he did, so it was not easy.”
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“His level of performance is so high that even for super talents like Max it requires a lot of effort, a lot of focus, a lot of energy, so it’s not going to be easy, not everyone can handle that, it’s as simple as that,” the former F1 driver continued.
How’s the season so far for Lewis Hamilton?
The seven-time world champion had the worst start of this season. The primary reason he finished third in the season opener in Bahrain was that both the Red Bull drivers ahead of him retired from that race due to suspected fuel pump troubles. In the Jeddah race, Hamilton finished P10 after massively struggling through qualifying.
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Meanwhile, Hamilton’s new teammate George Russell looks in better form than him at the moment. The Mercedes duo is experiencing a significant porpoising with the W13. So, the Silver Arrows are working on resolving the issue, but it’s affecting the other developments of the car.
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WATCH THIS STORY: Big Boost For Lewis Hamilton as Mercedes Director Offers Massive F1 Update
The Brit is eyeing his record eighth-time world championship this season. However, that prospect might be a little far-fetched considering the first two races of 2022. Let’s see if Hamilton can make a comeback to the front of the grid in the Australian GP this week.
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