In the midst of a very tough battle, which has sometimes resulted in collisions between him and title rival Max Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton cares about how he wins and achieves his goals. In a long interview with select media, including Motorsport.com, Hamilton stated that one of the things he always seeks is to be “clean”, never unfair, even though many other motorsport greats have not followed that mantra.
“It’s the way my dad raised me,” said Hamilton. “He always told me to say what he had to say on the track. As a child I was bullied. Both at school and on the track. That’s why I wanted to beat my opponents in the right way, not with a collision or anything like that. “.
“If you avoid collisions, no one can deny that you are one of the best. If you have accidents, however, they can say,” Oh yeah, but he did that maneuver. This is a tactic that driver often uses. “
“I want to be the purest of riders, I want to be through speed, through hard work, through determination. If you do this, no one can deny what you ultimately managed to achieve.”
The battles with Max Verstappen
Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, 1st position, and Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, 2nd position, congratulate each other in Parc Ferme
Photo by: Steve Etherington / Motorsport Images
Hamilton’s belief in remaining an unblemished rider goes against the idea of having to race against a very aggressive driver like Max Verstappen, who has already shown that he is not afraid to take things to the limit.
The two collided at the British and Italian Grand Prix. There has recently been a controversy over Verstappen’s behavior in forcing Hamilton off the track during a fine duel at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
Asked how he approaches riders like Verstappen, who is certainly not afraid to stick his elbows out, Hamilton said: “You have to be very, very cautious. More cautious than ever.”
“Rather than giving someone the benefit of the doubt, you need to know that’s what’s going to happen. You always have to be prepared to avoid a collision at all costs, even if it means going wide, because ultimately the goal is to finish the race, right. ? “.
“If you’re stubborn and hold your stance you’re going to crash, so that’s what I’ve been trying to do. I’ve been trying to make sure I avoid the collision. I think I’ve been pretty decent at doing this, at least in most scenarios. Not. you can always be perfect, but then there are other riders you are on track with who are aggressive and respectful in different ways. “
“Max isn’t the only driver I’ve raced against who’s made that way. I’ve raced against so many riders in my career and they’ve all been very different in their behavior. It’s certainly interesting. Now that I’m older, I look a little more into their character and I have more information about them, about education “.
“Our upbringing is why we act the way we act and we behave the way we act. Good or bad. So I try to understand, so that I can appreciate more who is the character I’m competing against.” .
Avoiding an accident
Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes W12, Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB16B
Photo by: Jerry Andre / Motorsport Images
At times, during this season, Hamilton has had to go off the track to avoid collisions with Verstappen. In particular at the first corner in both Imola and Barcelona.
Yet Lewis denies that pulling back was a sign of weakness, nor that his collision with Verstappen at Silverstone was somehow triggered by trying to prove himself to be tough, one who never gives up.
“If you are on the outside, retreating from completing the maneuver is almost always the sensible option if you want to make it to the end of the race,” Hamilton explained. “If you’re on the inside there are scenarios where I truly believe I was right. We were almost wheel to wheel.”
“At Silverstone, for example, go and watch the movie: my front wheel was next to his front wheel, so it wasn’t next to his rear wheel, as we took the corner. And in that scenario, if I followed the approach that Max had, for example, in Brazil, staying with his foot on the gas and going off the track and holding the position, what would have been the scenario? Would they have examined the rules there? “.
“I’m not too big or too successful to back out of a fight. I know sometimes that’s the path you have to take. You have to be the smart one.”
“Sometimes doing certain things leads to points, for sure, but it’s not just me. I have 2,000 people behind me and, through a selfish decision I could make, it could cost my entire team potential bonuses in the end. All the hard work they have to do, the damage to the car. I’m very aware of those things too. “
Hamilton also thinks that one factor in the differences in approach he takes is that the younger generation of drivers have grown up amidst higher safety standards when racing on the track, which means they are not afraid to go off-track, in the asphalt escape routes.
“I would say that today’s riders, the younger ones, the tracks they grew up on, all have very wide escape routes. While when I started, most of the tracks hadn’t gotten to this point yet. And it was more fun, more risky and you had to drive more, not always having to go over the limit “.
“You really had to build yourself slowly, while the new generations can go way beyond the limit, go wide and get back on track. There are fewer penalties to pay and that’s the only real difference.”
No hostility
Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, 1st position, and Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, 2nd position, congratulate each other in Parc Ferme
Photo by: Steve Etherington / Motorsport Images
While Hamilton and Verstappen clashed on the track this year and are starring in a close fight for the title, the two are not hostile off the track.
Hamilton does not think this situation is unusual, as he points out that their different approaches when running could be related to the fact that they are at very different stages in their careers.
“Look, I raced against people who showed one thing, on the one hand, but it was actually something different. I’m 36, I’ve been a pilot for a long time, so it’s not the first time I’ve been in front of a pilot. which was ‘good’ and ‘bad’. I think I’m in a better position to handle things and deal with them, especially under the spotlight and pressures of this sport. “
“I know that Max is a super fast driver and he will get stronger as he matures over time. He is something he will undoubtedly do. If we look at who I was when I was 24 or 25, man, how many mistakes I made. so”.
“I was fast, but I’ve been having a lot of different experiences outside of the car and, even being in the spotlight, the pressures of being up front. I don’t think I did very well back then, so I’ll never blame that on anyone. “.
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