“You learn to compartmentalise these things –
honestly, in the race I was not fazed when he did
it. But I did think: ‘What the hell is he doing?’
and when I spoke to him later I said, ‘That’s a
sign of disrespect, don’t disrespect me like that
again.’ I wouldn’t do that to someone, I’ve never
done that and I don’t know what he was thinking
to have done it.”
Along with his razor-sharp pace, one of
Hamilton’s strengths last year was his calm and
measured approach, and that will continue to
make him a formidable opponent for the new
season. There’s little in the way of unsettling
change this year, regulation-wise, save for
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introduction of a new hypersoft option.
When Lewis was styling it up sideways in the
C63 earlier he was giving no thought to its effects
on the tyres, in marked contrast to his skill in
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in an F1 car. In the Pirelli era, managing tyres,
their temperatures and ultimately their wear rate
has been critical in unlocking performance.
“There’s a window where the tyre is at its
best and you try to keep the rear temperatures
as low as possible – that’s easy,” he says. “The
fronts always take a lot longer to come in. Thekey is working the fronts without letting the
rears come up at the same time. And traction is
really important, so you try not to break traction
throughout the lap. If you do, the temperatures
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You’re always on the edge of the grip level.
“I’ve always been able to make the tyres last,
notably in GP2, but it’s a quest to try to do it in
F1, particularly if you haven’t got the balance of
the car quite right. Last year I was able to hone
into understanding the tools you need and we
had a really strong front tyre as a result.”
More tyre torture awaits as Lewis is called
away to wow the queue of Monster Energy guests
with a handful of laps on the edge of adhesion.
The sight of the British world champion in a
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drift would have brought a smile to the face of
Hugh Fortescue Locke King, the entrepreneur
who paid £150,000 to have Brooklands built on
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of British motor racing is continuing apace.Learning to keep calm
and compartmentalise
has helped Lewis stay
sane and relaxed