GP RACING MARCH 2020 45
testing on Ferrari’s own tracks and bespoke
Bridgestone tyres came together to create what
was, until Mercedes came along, the most
effective winning machine in Formula 1 history.
Schumacher’s move toFerrari was a gamble,
but one with weighted odds – he knew Brawn
and Byrne would follow, and he reckoned as long
as he was patient, itwould work out.
For Hamilton, it was much more of aleap of
faith. Mercedes had struggled since taking over
Brawn at the endof 2009, and while therewere
rumours it would be well placedfor the hybrid
era, there was no way of being sure.
“Everyonewas very concerned hewas maybe
going to a backwater, and just leaving home
for the sake of it,” Damon Hill says, “but he
did the right thing.
“That astuteness is part of his talent and
make-up as a grand prix driver. The great
drivers, they won a lot because they made sure
they knewthe game and put themselves in
the right place.
“There was amixtur e of ing redients that madehim come to that conclusion.He felt hewas stifled
a little bit, he wasn’table to getthe fr eedom he
needed.And hecreatedthe circumstances with
the opportunity of going toMercedes ofbeingable
to dictate terms, andhe couldn’t have done that
if he wasn’t the best driver.
“The bestdriver , the teams will come to him,
and he will say: ‘OK, I’m coming but I want these
conditions toperf orm to my best.’ And Lewis’s
conditions were less promotional work, more
time to himself to go off and do the things he
does aroundthe world.
“At times, it looked like he was a little bit
distracted, and maybe he had a bit too much jet
lag, because there were some raceswhen you
thought: ‘Well, hang on, where’s Lewis gone?’
And he hasto admit that was true. Sometimes
he went missing and maybe his off-track lifestyle
was contributing to that.
“When you look now at what he’s done, you’d
have to say he has provided himself withthe
happiness and contentment in his other life that
you need in order to be able to cope with thisintenseexperience of being an F1 driver.
“He has taken the pressure off himself by
having these other things he does and then
he can turn up, jump in and win. So there’s a
smartness. To know yourself that well and to
create the right conditions is part of the job of
a sportsman, and Lewis hasdone that.”
Hamilton left McLaren with 21 victories to his
name. He has added another 63 since. Really,
Hamilton should already have his seventh title
and be gunning this year for number eight. The
missing year was 2016, when his team-mate
Nico Rosberg took it. Hamilton did not help
himself with a few bad starts, and a wobbly
weekend in Japan, but ultimately it was their
skewed reliability records, with Hamilton
disproportionately affected, which decided it, and
even then Rosberg still only just beat Hamilton.
Hamilton has had the machinery, but he has
also outclassed his team-mates, and humiliated
Vettel when the German ought to have won the
title with Ferrari in 2017 and 2018.
What makes him sogood? Mercedes team bossPICTURES:RAINER SCHLEGELMILCH;STEVE ETHERINGTON.OTHER PICTURES:FIA2014
ABU DHABI GP
Secures second
title andfi rst with
Mercedes2015
ABU DHABI GP
A third drivers’ title is
secured with 10 race wins
and 11 pole positions2017
MEXICAN GP
Fourth championship and
third with Mercedes secured,
with two races leftMERCEDES
2020 SEASON PREVIEW
GP RACING MARCH 2020 45
testing on Ferrari’s own tracks and bespoke
Bridgestone tyres came together to create what
was, until Mercedes came along, the most
effective winning machine in Formula 1 history.
Schumacher’s move toFerrari was a gamble,
but one with weighted odds – he knew Brawn
and Byrne would follow, and he reckoned as long
as he was patient, itwould work out.
For Hamilton, it was much more of aleap of
faith. Mercedes had struggled since taking over
Brawn at the endof 2009, and while therewere
rumours it would be well placedfor the hybrid
era, there was no way of being sure.
“Everyonewas very concerned hewas maybe
going to a backwater, and just leaving home
for the sake of it,” Damon Hill says, “but he
did the right thing.
“That astuteness is part of his talent and
make-up as a grand prix driver. The great
drivers, they won a lot because they made sure
they knewthe game and put themselves in
the right place.
“There was amixtur e of ing redients that made
him come to that conclusion.He felt hewas stifled
a little bit, he wasn’table to getthe fr eedom he
needed.And hecreatedthe circumstances with
the opportunity of going toMercedes ofbeingable
to dictate terms, andhe couldn’t have done that
if he wasn’t the best driver.
“The bestdriver , the teams will come to him,
and he will say: ‘OK, I’m coming but I want these
conditions toperf orm to my best.’ And Lewis’s
conditions were less promotional work, more
time to himself to go off and do the things he
does aroundthe world.
“At times, it looked like he was a little bit
distracted, and maybe he had a bit too much jet
lag, because there were some raceswhen you
thought: ‘Well, hang on, where’s Lewis gone?’
And he hasto admit that was true. Sometimes
he went missing and maybe his off-track lifestyle
was contributing to that.
“When you look now at what he’s done, you’d
have to say he has provided himself withthe
happiness and contentment in his other life that
you need in order to be able to cope with thisintenseexperience of being an F1 driver.
“He has taken the pressure off himself by
having these other things he does and then
he can turn up, jump in and win. So there’s a
smartness. To know yourself that well and to
create the right conditions is part of the job of
a sportsman, and Lewis hasdone that.”
Hamilton left McLaren with 21 victories to his
name. He has added another 63 since. Really,
Hamilton should already have his seventh title
and be gunning this year for number eight. The
missing year was 2016, when his team-mate
Nico Rosberg took it. Hamilton did not help
himself with a few bad starts, and a wobbly
weekend in Japan, but ultimately it was their
skewed reliability records, with Hamilton
disproportionately affected, which decided it, and
even then Rosberg still only just beat Hamilton.
Hamilton has had the machinery, but he has
also outclassed his team-mates, and humiliated
Vettel when the German ought to have won the
title with Ferrari in 2017 and 2018.
What makes him sogood? Mercedes team bossPICTURES:RAINER SCHLEGELMILCH;STEVE ETHERINGTON.OTHER PICTURES:FIA2014
ABU DHABI GP
Secures second
title andfi rst with
Mercedes2015
ABU DHABI GP
A third drivers’ title is
secured with 10 race wins
and 11 pole positions2017
MEXICAN GP
Fourth championship and
third with Mercedes secured,
with two races leftMERCEDES
2020 SEASON PREVIEW