Lewis Hamilton revealed that he avoids distractions over race weekends, like dinners where time is wasted yapping, in order to focus on one thing; winning.
The Briton claims this has been the case for years now, as he has changed his grand prix weekend routine to be fully immersed in the business of winning and driving the performance of his team.
“I shifted my weekend rhythm from years ago,” he recently told Formula 1’s official website. “These four days [Thursday through to race day on Sunday], I’m only here for one reason.
“That’s not how you speak in the media or it’s not how you’re seen but it’s how you show up, it’s the work you’re doing on track, how you’re driving on the track, how you get the car to be the best it can be and how you can be the best you can be,” he explained.
Hamilton stays on track until he’s depleted
“So I try to use up all the time, and the quietest part of the day particularly is the end of the day as no one is around, and that’s where I have no distractions. I can go through the data – and I’m in constant contact with the simulation team back at the factory, so while that is running I’m able to have live interactions with the driver who is driving there.
“I eat at the track and then I’m depleted once I finish. I’m starting to wind down at the end, head back to the hotel, and then it’s a short time between going to sleep and waking up – so that’s what I like.
“I don’t want to finish here early and go to dinner,” the Briton revealed. “I have no desire to go to dinner and waste time yapping.
“I’m here for one reason, that’s to win races. That [dinner and other events not linked to racing during a race weekend] for me is all the distraction so I don’t do that very often – if ever,” he insisted.
Mercedes have suffered since the start of the 2022 season, but have been improving, and where contenders at the United States Grand Prix in Austin, and most recently the Mexico City Grand Prix.
However, Hamilton is under no illusion of the challenge that lies ahead of Mercedes before they are regularly winning again.
Mercedes till have a huge hill to climb
“The hill that we have to climb is huge,” he admitted. “For us, it’s important to imagine it as the biggest, steepest, toughest mountain you can climb because if you think it’s going to be a normal hill, you underachieve. You’ve got to think it’s the hardest climb you can imagine, which means you have to dig deep.
“There is a lot of work that we have already done up to this point to understand where we are, where we went wrong in the previous decisions that were made last year into this year.
“In terms of making the right steps for next year, it’s not easy to navigate as there are lots of different options but communication is what I’m trying to work on with everyone, making sure there are no loose ends, there’s no misunderstanding over what I feel in the car and what I want in the car, and making sure that we are continuously creating dialogue,” the winner of 103 grands prix explained.
Hamilton is currently fifth in the 2022 F1 Drivers’ Standings with 216 points. He has eight podiums so far this year and still chasing that elusive win.