Lewis Hamilton is a British driver for the McLaren Mercedes team and was the 2008 world drivers’ champion. He has won 20 races since he began driving for the McLaren Mercedes team in 2007. Before that, he was nurtured for nearly a decade in the team’s young driver program, having signed up as a protégé at the age of 13 while still racing go-karts. During those years, as he prepared for Formula One, Hamilton won in every series in which he raced. He also maintained close ties to the elite team, visiting its factory in Woking, England, using the racing car simulator, and even testing the Formula One car before he began racing. In his first season in Formula One, he came within 1 point of winning the drivers’ title, losing it in the final race to Kimi Raikkonen of Ferrari. He won the title the following year, also in the final race — and also by a single point — but this time against the other Ferrari driver, Felipe Massa. Last month, Hamilton, 27, announced that after six seasons at McLaren, he will move to the Mercedes team next season on a three-year deal. He spoke recently to Brad Spurgeon of the International Herald Tribune.

Q. The former team owner Ken Tyrrell once said it might be surprising to learn how many Formula One drivers actually just love to drive the car and don’t necessarily feel a need to win races. How important is winning for you — both races and titles?

A. Winning is always the main goal, and that is the most exciting part. It is the most satisfying part of all the work that goes into it. But as you get to Formula One, you realize this is the pinnacle of the sport and winning tons of times is not that easy. So it makes you learn to appreciate them more. When you have a longer gap, when you have 20 races and you only have three wins, those wins you really appreciate, because it took a lot of effort from yourself and from all the people that are in the team. And of course you want to win as many titles as possible. But it is getting harder and harder to do so.

Q. Which of the three teammates you have had in Formula One — Fernando Alonso, Heikki Kovalainen and Jenson Button — was the most important to you?