One thing that was plain to see this weekend is that once Lewis realised that he could get the most out of his car his whole demeanour changed and suddenly Lewis “Wunderkid” Hamilton was back. It just goes to show how much driver attitude can play a part in racing. Having belief in the machinery you are using is one thing but attitude is something more than that.
It’s something that has been seen in F1 for many years and it can’t really be attributed to any particular kind of driver. Some classic examples of drivers who have not lost the ability to drive but the attitude to drive include Carlos Reutemann in 1982, Senna in 1993, Hill in 1997, Frentzen in 2001 and Montoya in 2006.
As well as all those named above being totally different styles of drivers they all had various reasons for their general un-happiness as well. Senna was fed up with an under-performing Mclaren and felt the team were no longer listening to him, Hill had lost all motivation, Montoya fell out with the team and Reutemann’s implosion at the end of the 1981 season still baffles people to this day.
One of the things that seems to keep Hamilton happy seems to be giving him the feeling that he is part of a team. I think that more than any other driver on the grid at the moment, Hamilton looks to the support of his team in a far greater way than any one else. What I mean by that is that every time Hamilton speaks either in public or on the radio in the car for example, it’s all very much we this and the team that. In a recent article in an F1 magazine they pointed out just how many times Hamilton referred racing decisions to the team (tyre calls, strategy etc) and then moaned at the very same team when it all went wrong.
It would seem this week that Hamilton (all though Martin Whitmarsh never actually said as much) and Button have re-signed (or rather confirmed their contracts) with Mclaren for at least next season and perhaps beyond. Maybe now with the renewed feeling of confidence that Mclaren are with him and behind him it has re-lit the fire in Hamilton and the second half of the season will see a marked improvement on the first. Perhaps also, that is why the Red Bull conversation never went any further than a brief chat, while I’m not suggesting that Mclaren is Hamilton’s team, I think it’s pretty safe to say he would never get the same warm cosy feeling in a Red Bull.
So, have Mclaren really improved that much since the British GP (Buttons performance relative to Hamilton suggests that the car still has some way to go?) or can we really attribute Hamilton’s performance this weekend to a new mood and can this be sustained now for the remainder of the season? One things for sure, no one wants to see the “Everyone is against me, woe is me” Hamilton of earlier in the season.
It’s something that has been seen in F1 for many years and it can’t really be attributed to any particular kind of driver. Some classic examples of drivers who have not lost the ability to drive but the attitude to drive include Carlos Reutemann in 1982, Senna in 1993, Hill in 1997, Frentzen in 2001 and Montoya in 2006.
As well as all those named above being totally different styles of drivers they all had various reasons for their general un-happiness as well. Senna was fed up with an under-performing Mclaren and felt the team were no longer listening to him, Hill had lost all motivation, Montoya fell out with the team and Reutemann’s implosion at the end of the 1981 season still baffles people to this day.
One of the things that seems to keep Hamilton happy seems to be giving him the feeling that he is part of a team. I think that more than any other driver on the grid at the moment, Hamilton looks to the support of his team in a far greater way than any one else. What I mean by that is that every time Hamilton speaks either in public or on the radio in the car for example, it’s all very much we this and the team that. In a recent article in an F1 magazine they pointed out just how many times Hamilton referred racing decisions to the team (tyre calls, strategy etc) and then moaned at the very same team when it all went wrong.
It would seem this week that Hamilton (all though Martin Whitmarsh never actually said as much) and Button have re-signed (or rather confirmed their contracts) with Mclaren for at least next season and perhaps beyond. Maybe now with the renewed feeling of confidence that Mclaren are with him and behind him it has re-lit the fire in Hamilton and the second half of the season will see a marked improvement on the first. Perhaps also, that is why the Red Bull conversation never went any further than a brief chat, while I’m not suggesting that Mclaren is Hamilton’s team, I think it’s pretty safe to say he would never get the same warm cosy feeling in a Red Bull.
So, have Mclaren really improved that much since the British GP (Buttons performance relative to Hamilton suggests that the car still has some way to go?) or can we really attribute Hamilton’s performance this weekend to a new mood and can this be sustained now for the remainder of the season? One things for sure, no one wants to see the “Everyone is against me, woe is me” Hamilton of earlier in the season.