Hamilton's strength lies in his "incredible inner calmness"
F1 News
- GPblog.com
Lewis Hamilton won the second and third races of the season and that puts him back at the top of the rankings. Valtteri Bottas is certainly not doing badly with one victory and three podiums, nevertheless Hamilton shows his class again. According to former F1-driver Nick Heidfeld this is special, because this is due to an unprecedented inner calm.
Breathtaking performance of Hamilton
In his column for Sky Sport Germany Heidfeld writes: "Lewis Hamilton's performance is truly breathtaking. He achieved his 90th pole in Budapest. The man is in a class of his own and what makes him so special to me is the calmness that radiates. That's his real strength." As a result, he will never panic, which can have a detrimental effect on the track, the German concludes.
No crazy actions
"When I look at the Hamilton at the beginning of his Formula 1 career and compare him to today's Lewis, it's a completely different person. Of course he already had the talent then, but if things didn't go as intended then, when he was behind in points, then he acted completely different than he does now."
"Now he's a six-time world champion. Now he has the peace, the knowledge and especially the self-confidence." That's what helps him in situations where things aren't going so well. The best example of this was of course the first Grand Prix in Austria, when Valtteri Bottas took victory and was constantly ahead of the Brit during the race.
"If he gets behind Bottas, like in the first race, he doesn't get upset and then does something stupid in the next race. Something that could have happened at the beginning of his career." He owes all of this to his strength and concentration to deliver the best possible and that comes back to "an incredible inner calmness. That's what really sets him apart."