Hamilton: “Difficult to hide something” in F1
Lewis Hamilton reflected on the issue of data and data sharing in F1, drawing on his personal experiences with Fernando Alonso in 2007 at McLaren and with Nico Rosberg this season at Mercedes.
In a long interview with the station BBC Radio 5 Live, Lewis Hamilton discussed the importance of data and its use in Formula 1, in the title race between Nico Rosberg and himself in the 2014 Championship.
The 2008 world champion first went back several years: « In karting, there is no data. There are no pit stops, no issues with brake temperature, or figuring out how much boost is left. So, when you have an advantage, you maintain that advantage. The guy behind you can’t see it anywhere. »
On the contrary, in the premier discipline, it’s difficult to hide an advantage and thus keep it: With current technology, there is so much information, it is so difficult to conceal something, explains Hamilton before illustrating this point with his own experience: It’s like the experience I had with Fernando [at McLaren in 2007]. When I arrived in F1, I thought: “Wow, Fernando is so fast, and he uses all these different techniques.” But fortunately, there was the data. If there hadn’t been any data, I wouldn’t have been able to beat him that year.
In 2014, the situation did not change; especially since Mercedes has made total transparency between the drivers a leitmotif: « There are times when Nico is ahead, and I can see it. And there are times when I am ahead, and he can see that. For example, fuel consumption. After the last race, they discovered how I was saving fuel, and he will be aware of that now, and maybe he will be closer in fuel consumption. »
« Each time this small advantage disappears, for him or for me, you must always find something new. »
Regarding the sporting situation, when asked if it is stressful, he affirms: It is, but that’s the game. It’s great that it’s so close. I’ve never, in my career, wanted to experience a season where you drive without enthusiasm and win. You need to feel like you’ve given everything, that you’ve sweated to the last drop, that you’ve spent every ounce of energy in the pursuit of victory, and there’s nothing better than that feeling when you win.
Finally, he reflects on the importance of qualifications, an exercise in which Rosberg dominated him 5 times in the first 9 GPs of the season: « It has become increasingly clear to me that qualifying is really an important part of the season. It is so difficult to overtake the guy with the same car, the only way is in the pit stops. So, you have to be in a strong position, but it’s not easy, because sometimes it’s Nico who is fast and sometimes it’s me.
By coming back to within just four points of Rosberg, less than the gap between a first and second place, Hamilton believes that the counters are reset to zero. He concludes: “It’s almost a fresh start in this second half of the season and the fight will be really close between us.”
