A happy Hamilton is a quick Hamilton

cider_and_toast

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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.
 
Yesterday's "Self Affirmation" has sorted Lewis Hamilton for the rest of the year. He will be on a roll from now on!

You mark (and I don't mean Mr Webber :D) my words...
 
Poor old young Lewis does come across a bit "bi-polar" on occasions. Everey win is the best of his career, every loss is a pitiful new low. Not sure how he can square this circle but he needs to if he's going to win more titles.

Absolutely the point I was trying to make however you said in two lines what I waffled on about in 20 or so. :thumbsup:
 
There does seem to be something that has lifted Hamiltons spirits this weekend, maybe the rumours of the engagement? Is there something else away from the track that has been bothering him that he has now sorted out?

It is very easy to let outside influence affect your performance in work, same for a F1 driver as it is for a desk jockey. Maybe those outside influences are now falling into place for Lewis which has given him a more positive outlook?
 
Maybe he has just accepted that the WDC is once again out of his grasp this year and therefore has nothing to lose?

Or perhaps it's simply that his car is competitive once again and he is at least able to challenge for poles and wins?
 
Nobody has yet questioned why/if Vettel has had a change of attitude. He is not the usual bright chipper driver of late. I wonder what has happened in HIS world? This of course in turn assists Hamilton.
 
Vettel is very consistent with his winning face and losing face. I don't think he had a great car this weekend, it's almost been bullet proof for him so he's had a big adjustment to make. Nothing more than a blip I think (fear).

I think Bro may have hit the nail on the head and FB summed up an interesting article perfectly. That said we saw some very sensible racing this weekend, it could have been so different.
 
I think it's pretty clear that the WDC is over, unless your an extreme optimist. I think Hamilton knows this (but obviously can't say this because of PR) and instead is just taking it once race at a time. What intrigues me is whether McLaren have caught RBR/Ferrari (did McLaren bring upgrades to the Nurburgring?) or was it Button being poor/Hamilton being sublime?
 
I reckon we'll get confirmation very shortly that Lewis is staying at Mclaren for 3/4 more years. Reckon all the talk about his future has gotten to him recently and he certainly looked much happier this weekend.
 
I think a lot of people are forgetting what happend only 2 weeks ago in Britain, McLaren as a team were bad and the car was slow. Not since 2008 have McLaren had a true title contending car, and while they've been reasonably close each time its always ended with no dice. With the regulations not changing until 2014 it leaves a large opportunity for Red Bull to maintain the advantage they hold under the current rules. By the start of the 2014 season Hamilton will be 28, and if I were to ask people at the end of his first season would they still think by then he may not be a 2x champion? This weekend has been good for McLaren but lets not forget that the chilly conditions played strongly into McLaren's hands, it's Ferrari who should be celebrating.
 
I think 2010 was a "true title contending car" both drivers in contention up until the second last race, one of them going as far as near the end.

If either didn't make major mistakes, then they would have been World Champion.
 
Well this season McLaren is hardly a "non-contender" the Montreal rear redesign and Valencia did not really work out to well, and in Silverstone both were quick enough bar a wheel nut and fuel problem to get onto the podium, it is hardly like McLaren went from "faster than RB" to "Sauber-esque". Mistakes unlike the ones of 2010 have put McLaren out of this championship theoretically of coarse.

Wasn't the same thing said after China,......Lewis would have a spring in his step and fight all the way. The real test will be Hungary and definately at Spa and Monza.
 
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