Pretty Tough on the Guys – Lewis Hamilton Admits Moments of Weakness

Lewis Hamilton has been under immense pressure from Max Verstappen since the start of this season, something which has been missing in the last 5 years. Prior to 2021, the Briton had a joyous ride, with neither Valtteri Bottas nor his rival teams’ drivers challenging hard enough for the throne.

But, since Honda’s resurgence in their farewell season, Hamilton is enduring a hard time keeping Verstappen behind him. What’s more, the pressure isn’t just restricted to himself but the entire Mercedes AMG garage comprising hundreds of engineers.

Hence, Hamilton revealed the extra burdens he and his team have had to cope with in a title fight as intense as the ongoing one.

What did Lewis Hamilton say?

Speaking to Motorsport Total, Hamilton affirmed that he has often lashed out at his engineers even if he felt like his car was missing a few milliseconds of performance.

Since Verstappen’s arrival to the title fight, Hamilton admitted that he has been forced to walk around his W12 with a magnifying glass hunting for ways to improve the pace.

Formula One F1 – Brazilian Grand Prix – Jose Carlos Pace Circuit, Sao Paulo, Brazil – November 13, 2021 Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton before practice REUTERS/Ricardo Moraes

“You take a closer look at all the details in order to find performance that has not yet been discovered,” he said. “For example: If the body is a little too open because of the cooling, you may lose 30 milliseconds of performance. We chase things like that. Sometimes I’m pretty tough on the guys: ‘Close that damn car!’”

“Or the front brake discs could be too hot, or the tire pressure next to them, the gear ratio. You have to hit the gears so that the speed doesn’t drop at the start. And if you still have four kilos of gasoline at the end of the race in the tank, you also wasted a second.”

It’s all about the details: Hamilton

The 7-time world champion revealed that he has had to spend extra energy this year unlike in the past to keep his title hopes alive.

“Those are the things that I’ve spent more energy on and on which I demand more from the team than before. Because we need every millisecond – especially on the tracks where we were behind. It’s about the details. Everywhere,” Hamilton concluded.

Formula One F1 – Russian Grand Prix – Sochi Autodrom, Sochi, Russia – September 26, 2021 Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton celebrates with teammates after winning the race REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov

Overall, the efforts from Hamilton’s end seem to be paying off, and it was clearly evident in Brazil and Qatar. Now, with a couple more to go, we are in for a nail-biting end to this season, assuming there are nails still left to bite off. But, who is ultimately going to clinch the championship trophy?

Watch Story: Lewis Hamilton: Ranking His F1 World Titles From 2008 to 2020

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