EXCLUSIVE
Lewis Hamilton shares rare elite skill with Michael Schumacher and Max Verstappen – but here’s why he might not make it at Ferrari
Lewis Hamilton, Michael Schumacher and Max Verstappen - Ted Kravitz has worked with them all, and knows what makes them the best.
The iconic pitlane reporter is closing in on his third decade in Formula 1, having covered almost every Grand Prix, and many of the greatest to ever do it.
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Such a broad perspective is incredibly rare in the ever-changing paddock, where drivers and team bosses can be sacked in an instant.
Yet Kravitz bucks the trend, and has given talkSPORT his unique perspective on the three greats of the modern era ahead of the launch of his new book F1 Insider.
Revealing the biggest factor which stands out when speaking to champions, he said: “It’s an intensity of focus.
“It’s freeing themselves not to get too mentally bogged down in all the stuff that doesn’t matter.”
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Citing the current master of the mental game, he continued: “The person who does that best is Max Verstappen.
“There’s only two things he’s interested in, racing and his family life with his new daughter.
“That’s all he’s interested in. He’s not out there trying to hawk around selling luggage or fragrances or anything like that, he’s not interested, he just wants to race - when he’s not racing he’s doing sim racing.
“Freeing up all that mental clutter and just focusing on what’s important is really a signature of champions.
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“Schumacher was the same, [Sebastian] Vettel to an extent. And Lewis - Lewis’ focus throughout a weekend is incredible.”
Red Bull’s Verstappen is now on four world titles, and only three drivers have more in the history of the sport, those being Schumacher and Hamilton on seven, and Juan Manuel Fangio on five.
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It looked like Fangio’s number from the 1950s would never be beaten, but Schumacher flew past it with Benetton and Ferrari.
Cited by many athletes as the greatest team builder of all time, Schumacher’s race to perfection extended even beyond his pit garage and into the media pen.
That made Kravitz a better reporter, as he explained: “Schumacher demands excellence from everyone in his professional life, that includes journalists.
“If you just give him a duff question like ‘what are your targets for this weekend’ he’ll say ‘to win’ and your editor will say ‘is that all you got?’
“The lesson I learned from Schumacher was to think carefully about your questions, make it different from what they’ve just had.
“What you want to do to keep it fresh is give them a question they’re not expecting or a question different from any other reporter. Michael Schumacher taught me that.”
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Much like Fangio - Schumacher’s seven titles looked unbeatable, and they still are, with Hamilton stuck on the same number.
The Brit’s last title came in 2020, and even with the freshness of a new team in Ferrari things haven’t improved much.
Yet Kravitz can certainly see things getting better due to Hamilton’s extraordinary team development skills, even if he isn’t the man to benefit.
“His greatest achievement might be getting that team into championship shape, but maybe for someone else,” he said of Hamilton.
“He’s 40 now, there’s nothing to say he can’t carry on, but I think he’s realised since he’s gone there there are things that need to be changed.
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“He produces these documents to give to the team to bring them up to certain areas that Lewis sees as the cutting edge standard to get them to be championship contenders.
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“They’re like shipping containers some of these teams and it might take a while to do a turning circle, it might take a couple of years, by which time, who knows.”