Interview With Lewis Hamilton
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Sep 12, 2008
McLaren
Question: How do you plan your opening laps of practice on a Friday?
Lewis Hamilton: “Well, firstly, we do a lot of work back at the McLaren Technology Centre to ensure we arrive at each track in very good shape set-up wise. That means when we hit the track on Friday morning I normally have a pretty good idea of how the car needs to be, how to find its sweet-spot. It’s never a good idea to make a snap judgment on the car, because the track is often dirty and slippery, but that first impression is usually pretty representative of your overall pace - I can feel if the car is going to be good or not.”
Question: How do you know when you’ve driven a perfect lap?
Lewis Hamilton: “It’s a question I’m asked quite a lot, actually. You just feel it - you can pretty much find the limit at any circuit straight away but, sometimes during the weekend, you might make a small mistake at a corner, miss an apex or run wide. The best feeling is when you’re in qualifying and you manage to string it all together at once, getting every corner just right - it wasn’t totally perfect, but that’s the sort of feeling I got at Spa in qualifying.
“Also, you just feel so connected to the car. I can honestly say that our car just feels amazing to drive - not only does it react to every change we make to it in the garage, but it also feels really responsive to drive on the circuit. The buzz you get from being totally plugged-in to a racing car is just crazy.”
Question: Finally, we’re off to Monza next, what do you think of the place?
Lewis Hamilton: “All of the circuits are a challenge, but Monza is unique: you can literally feel the history of the place when you see the old banking, and it’s the only track that places such individual demands on the car. It’s the only place where we trim off all the downforce and run a seriously stripped-down aero package. It’s the fastest circuit of the lot - we’re reaching 350km/h along the main straight - and that’s pretty quick. I think we’ll be quick.
“I have spent many of my junior karting years racing in Italy and it is a place that is really, really close to my heart. I have some extremely great friends in Italy and so I am looking forward to being there this weekend.”
