Nelson Piquet Jr. praises Lewis Hamilton. According to the former Formula 1 driver, the current seven-time world champion immediately showed his talent in his debut season, unlike Oscar Piastri and Mercedes successor Andrea Kimi Antonelli. ‘The confidence Lewis had in his first year was insane,’ Piquet Jr. praises the Ferrari driver.
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Lewis Hamilton began his Formula 1 career in 2007 at McLaren. The Briton had a flying start and, at the end of the season, fell just one championship point short of the world title. That went to then-Ferrari driver Kimi Räikkönen. According to Nelson Piquet Junior – himself a Formula 1 driver between 2008 and 2009 – the later seven-time world champion showed his qualities best back then.
“Hamilton’s first season was much more important than the championships he won with his hands behind his back, in a very good car,” Piquet Junior even states in the Pelas Pistas podcast. “And that is what it’s really about, because we see nowadays what Oscar Piastri achieved against Lando in his first season: that was nothing special, he suffered a significant defeat.” Hamilton finished his debut season with the same number of championship points, 109, as his more experienced teammate Fernando Alonso. Piastri took 97 championship points in his debut year, not even half of the 205 points that teammate Norris had gathered.
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Praise for Hamilton
According to Piquet Junior, the performances of his successors at Mercedes, Andrea Kimi Antonelli, also clearly show how talented the Briton was in his debut season. “We see what Kimi Antonelli achieved against Russell in his first season. And then you have what Lewis did against Alonso in his first season,” Piquet Junior continues. “I think only we, the people in this world, can analyze that, right? The confidence he had in his first year was insane.”
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