A Lewis Hamilton insider shares the biggest difference between him and Michael Schumacher that most people don’t notice.
Jock Clear, Lewis Hamilton’s former performance engineer at Mercedes, recently shared what he thinks is the biggest difference between working with Lewis and another seven-time world champion, Michael Schumacher.
Jock now works at Ferrari as a driver coach, mainly with Charles Leclerc, Lewis’s teammate. In the past, he was Jacques Villeneuve’s race engineer when Villeneuve won the 1997 title against Schumacher. He also worked with Schumacher at Mercedes from 2011 to 2012. Jock’s career includes a long time at Honda and then at Mercedes after they took over Brawn GP in 2010. This gave him the chance to work with Schumacher, Hamilton, and Nico Rosberg.
Talking to BetSelect.co.uk, Jock compared his experiences with Schumacher and Hamilton. He said both drivers share amazing dedication but are quite different in personality. “Lewis wears his heart on his sleeve, while Michael was more private. You can see Lewis’s emotions clearly—when he’s upset or happy—but Michael kept those feelings to himself,” Jock explained. He added that what works for Lewis might not suit Michael and vice versa, but both have the ability to pull a team together in their own way. Winning seven championships gives them a special kind of respect and almost a magical presence. Jock noticed this sparkle in legends like Ayrton Senna, Schumacher, and now Hamilton.
Since working with Hamilton from 2012 until now, Jock has seen very little change in him despite all his success. “Lewis came into Mercedes when the team was already strong, and he added something special, helping to build a great team spirit. He’s doing the same at Ferrari now,” Jock said. “Even though he’s won six more championships since I last worked closely with him, Lewis hasn’t really changed. He’s like a Disney character—he doesn’t age. He’s still fun, energetic, and enjoys the same things.” After a few months at Ferrari, Lewis really saw the importance of the team’s culture and what it means for success.
Right now, Lewis’s race engineer is Carlo Santi, who took over after Riccardo Adami moved to a senior position in Ferrari’s driver academy. Cedric Michel-Grosjean joined Lewis’s team this year after working with Oscar Piastri at McLaren. Although some thought Cedric might become Lewis’s race engineer, Ferrari’s team boss Frederic Vasseur said there are no plans to change things soon.