© LAT Images for Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Ltd
By Carol M. Creasey
In Formula One, when a car is dominant, questions have always been asked about whether the driver could have won the championships in a lesser car.
During the period from 2010 – 2013 Red Bull had the fastest car and during that time Sebastian Vettel earned himself 4 consecutive world championships. Since then, at Ferrari, in spite of it being the closest to Mercedes from 2017 – 2019, he has not managed to repeat those triumphs.
Mercedes has led the way since 2014, with Lewis taking the championship every year except 2016, when he was dogged by mechanical failures and unable to stop his team-mate Nico Rosberg from winning the title.
Mercedes have upped their game since then, it is very rare for their cars to have a DNF through mechanical failure. Lewis too has upped his game. He was always fast, but with maturity came patience, he now plays the long game. Like a cat catching a mouse he sits behind his rivals, who in their anxiety to get away from him often lean on their tyres, while he waits and makes sure he looks after his own.
This ability to look after his tyres so well was crucial in winning the race in Turkey last Sunday, as well as his calmness and patience to keep his car on the track in treacherous conditions, whilst all around him drivers were panicking and making mistakes. Having started from sixth place after a difficult qualifying session, he bided his time and, after lap 37, it became apparent he had a real chance of winning. He overtook Sergio Perez and never looked back, winning the race by over 30 seconds.
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Former Mercedes Executive Director Technical Paddy Lowe has worked with Lewis, first at McLaren and then at Mercedes for a number of years. When interviewed recently he stated that the way Lewis won the Turkish Grand Prix was a fitting way to claim his seventh title, and must surely silence all doubters who say it’s just the car. In harsh weather conditions Mercedes did not have an advantage, all cars were somewhat equal, but due to Lewis’ skill, as well as his ability to get heat into the tyres and to stop the car from spinning, his was a standout performance.
Hamilton’s race engineer Peter Bonnington said that even though he has always known how talented Lewis was, he is still capable of amazing him with off the scale performances. Some of the pole positions he has achieved are amazing, on paper those times should not be possible.
To get the best out of a Formula One car, a driver has to be above average, have a good relationship with his mechanics, understand how to extract performance from his car and be at one with it. Lewis ticks all those boxes and this is what makes him such a force to be reckoned with.
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