A former Ferrari and Mercedes performance engineer has strongly pushed back against long-standing perceptions surrounding Lewis Hamilton, insisting that the seven-time Formula 1 World Champion has often been mischaracterised as self-centred or difficult within a team environment.
Jock Clear, who has worked closely with some of the most successful drivers in modern Formula 1, including Lewis Hamilton and Michael Schumacher, has shared his perspective on what truly defines elite performance inside top-level teams. According to him, success in Formula 1 is never the result of individual ego, but of deep collaboration and trust between drivers and their engineers.
Jock Clear defends Lewis Hamilton’s leadership and collaboration style
Jock Clear, who contributed to Lewis Hamilton’s early championship success during his time at Mercedes in Brackley, explained that public criticism of the British driver often misses the reality of how he operates behind the scenes. He suggested that the idea of Lewis Hamilton being “arrogant” or “self-focused” does not reflect his experience of working with him.
He also noted that Lewis Hamilton’s return to Ferrari in 2025 placed him in a different internal structure, where he worked alongside both senior engineers and Charles Leclerc, while also supporting the wider development direction of the team and its academy system.
Reflecting on his broader career, Jock Clear explained that both Lewis Hamilton and Michael Schumacher shared a defining trait: a strong commitment to their teams and an understanding that Formula 1 success depends on collective effort rather than individual prominence.
He reportedly emphasised that whenever criticism labels Lewis Hamilton as someone who prioritises himself above the team, such interpretations are far removed from reality. Instead, he described the British driver as highly engaged in teamwork, technical feedback, and continuous development processes.
Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc within Ferrari’s shared structure
Within Ferrari, Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc operate under equal driver status, which requires close coordination in terms of car development feedback, setup direction, and long-term performance goals. This internal dynamic is often highlighted as one of the most competitive and balanced driver pairings on the Formula 1 grid.
Although the seven-time F1 world champion has publicly admitted during the 2025 season that he has experienced moments of self-doubt, he has also consistently described Formula 1 as a deeply demanding environment where pressure can affect even the most successful drivers. His reflections have been linked to broader challenges following the dramatic conclusion of the 2021 season in Abu Dhabi.
Max Verstappen perspective compared to team dynamics in Formula 1
Jock Clear also addressed wider perceptions surrounding Max Verstappen, suggesting that the Dutch driver is often misunderstood in terms of his relationship with team structure and decision-making. Despite incidents such as the 2022 Brazilian Grand Prix, where he declined to follow team instructions, Clear argued that such moments do not define his overall approach.
Instead, he indicated that Max Verstappen has been a key figure in building a highly effective working environment at Red Bull, contributing to a dominant period in which the team secured multiple consecutive world championships between 2021 and 2024.
According to this view, modern Formula 1 success stories involving drivers such as Lewis Hamilton, Charles Leclerc, and Max Verstappen all reinforce the same underlying principle: even the most talented drivers in the world depend heavily on strong engineering teams, strategic leadership, and long-term technical stability to achieve consistent results.
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