Q&A: Lewis Hamilton

Lewis Hamilton and Sir Stirling Moss - F1 Grand Prix of Great Britain Previews

Lewis, you’ve settled into Mercedes well but it was brave move to leave McLaren, how do have things been different for you at Mercedes?

Well, I never like to compare because where I’ve come from, it’s like my family. They’re the people who got me to Formula 1. I’m in a team now where we haven’t had as much success, and we’re just hungry – if not more hungry – to get that success. I’m looking forward to the journey.

Did you look at Mercedes and think ‘this group of people have got a lot of potential’?

It wasn’t an easy decision to leave the team I started out in. I had to look at the different aspects and there had to be positive reasons to go. I’ve been with Mercedes since I was 13. They were a big part of me growing up so I didn’t feel too alien.

Do you do a lot of looking back, with someone like Niki Lauda for example, do people like that pass on wisdom?

Yeah, they’re just out and out drivers from back then and people like Niki have very unique advice to give. They’re ballsy racing drivers. They raced when it was a lot more dangerous and it was just them and the car, without all the politics or all the media that surrounds it today. They don’t mess around, they cut straight to the point and that’s the cool thing about Niki. He’s very, very blunt but her understands.

Ross Brawn’s got an amazing record behind him – do you think that there is still more to come with Mercedes, that it’s growing as a team?

Absolutely, we’re getting fairly decent results now but it is absolutely very, very early days, we really didn’t expect to be where we are this year.

What was it like to win your home Grand Prix?

Unlike anything else.

What’s the difference between racing in Silverstone and Monaco?

Monaco is cool. In Monte Carlo you’re surrounded by glitz and glamour and it’s a race you always watch on TV and always want to wi. So when you do win it’s very special. But your home Grand Prix – that’s the one in the country you grew up in – you’re with your home fans. All the Brits turn up there, turn up in their thousands, they stay out even in the rain. There is so much British pride…the support you have there is ten times, a hundred times more than you’d have anywhere else. And so when you do win you feel like you’re carrying those people with you and you’re taking them on a journey.

You’ve always talked about Ayrton Senna being one of your idols, is he still your number one driver of all time?

Ayrton was my favourite driver. When I was growing up people used to buy me videos, I used to come home from school and spend most of my time watching Ayrton drive and aspiring to be him.

What do you do to relax?

I do a lot of sports. Just chilling out with friends, normal stuff that most people do, playing a bit of music, having a drink every now and then, partying…

This interview was written by Harry Jarman and originally published in The Gentleman’s Journal Autumn 2013 issue, to read upcoming exclusive interviews, see our Summer Issue – out now. Subscribe here…

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