When former Lewis Hamilton and Michael Schumacher colleague highlighted one major difference between the two F1 legends

With seven world championship titles each, Lewis Hamilton and Michael Schumacher are among the top drivers to have graced Formula 1. Senior performance engineer Jock Clear highlighted a major difference between the two F1 legends in an article for MotorSport magazine in 2019.

Throughout his career of around two decades, Schumacher was known for his speed, ability to deliver performance in crucial moments, and aggressive racing style. Schumacher rose to fame during his time as a Ferrari driver, winning five consecutive titles from 2000 to 2004 and dominating the era singlehandedly. Similarly, Hamilton was also the most dominant force in the last decade, winning six of his seven titles with Mercedes-AMG from 2014 to 2020.

In an article on Hamilton's journey by MotorSport magazine's British author and journalist Mark Hughes in 2019, Jock Clear spoke about the two legends. Having worked with both Schumacher (2011-2012) and Hamilton (2013-2014) at Mercedes, the British engineer shared his opinion on the latter's self-belief, something which sets him apart from the other drivers.

"Michael once confided that he didn’t believe he could drive a race car faster than Mika Häkkinen – and so therefore he needed to work extra hard behind the scenes to ensure he had every advantage possible over him. Lewis Hamilton, on the other hand, more than any other driver I’ve known, has 100 percent belief in his ability as the best, the fastest, and when things go wrong he returns to that belief – it’s his balancing point. You never, ever, need to build his confidence back up; it never wavers," Clear commented.

"Sometimes he’d say after a practice session in which he was fastest, “What’s wrong? Why are we not faster?” and I’d point out that he was fastest. And he’d reply, 'Yes, but we’re only a tenth ahead of Nico [Rosberg].' He believed he was more than a tenth faster than Nico as a driver – so if he was only beating him by that much, something was wrong," he added.

Clear's statement from the five-year-old article was recently shared on X by an F1 fan. Here's a look at the post, captioned:

"Jock Clear sharing a Hamilton / Rosberg anecdote to speak on Lewis' self belief, and comparing it to Michael Schumacher"

As of now, Clear is working as a driver coach for Charles Leclerc at Ferrari, the team Lewis Hamilton is set to join next year.

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"It’s not a mental problem" - Lewis Hamilton clears the air after a disappointing Qualifying session at COTA

After suffering a suspension issue, Mercedes-AMG star Lewis Hamilton qualified 18th for the US Grand Prix at the Circuit of The Americas (COTA). The British driver shut down claims of a mental block during the post-qualifying media interaction.

“Well, I mean, I was about to qualify on pole yesterday, so it’s not a mental problem. When the suspension is failing or breaking and things aren’t coming together. I mean today, honestly, I can’t. You’ll have to ask the team, I haven’t got the suspension, but I know the guys are working as hard as they can. They did the change,” Lewis Hamilton replied.

As of now, Hamilton is placed sixth in the drivers' standings. He is 19 points ahead of his Mercedes teammate and compatriot George Russell.