Hamilton wants to rival Button in 2012

In an exclusive interview with Gazetta dello Sport, Lewis Hamilton outlines his goals and expectations for 2012, but first reflects on his challenging 2011 season: « I want to consider last year as an opportunity to grow, to learn from everything I experienced, and to put it to good use in 2012. »

Yet the Brit seemed to be, for many, the only barrier to Sebastian Vettel’s domination at the start of last season. His victory in China had reignited hope among all of the German’s rivals, as well as among many enthusiasts, and the duel that pitted him against the Red Bull driver in Spain had confirmed the feeling that only the McLaren driver could disrupt Vettel in his quest for a second title. However, this was followed by the Monaco and Canada Grand Prix, and then a season end marked by repeated troubles with his 2008 title rival, Brazilian Felipe Massa: « We often found ourselves in a battle: Felipe is never easy to overtake because he never leaves space. But there’s no need to dramatize, I have nothing against him » assures the Brit, who had given the Paulista a sincere hug as a sign of reconciliation.

In the meantime, Jenson Button, who had joined the Woking team, all crowned with his driver’s title, to challenge the spirited Brit, took advantage of his teammate’s misfortunes to assert himself gradually as Sebastian Vettel’s real rival, in a trajectory opposite to that taken by Hamilton who, for the first time in his young – but already rich – career, was surpassed by his teammate in the final championship standings: “Jenson is very fast and he has gathered a strong technical team around him. I want to be ahead of him and I’m not happy if the opposite happens, but I don’t make a drama out of it,” explains Lewis Hamilton, who would like to compete with Button [for the title] in 2012, acknowledging, however, that it will depend on the McLaren.

In 2011, the Woking team indeed experienced a delayed start before narrowly managing to right the ship for the first Grand Prix of the season and gradually challenge Red Bull’s hegemony in the 2011 world championship: « The Red Bull is substantially an evolution of the aerodynamic concept introduced in 2009. Midway through the 2011 season, it was still phenomenal, expressing its maximum potential, and, moreover, it almost never had mechanical trouble. On the contrary, when we had the same reliability, we didn’t achieve the same performances. The new McLaren MP4-27 seems, by far, better than last year’s model » judged the Brit, a statement that is not without reminding us of the enthusiasm shown by McLaren drivers after the first simulator tests of the MP4-26, just a year ago.

Armed with good intentions, Lewis Hamilton approaches the 2012 season with the desire to make up for a 2011 campaign that fell below his abilities. However, it remains to be seen what lasting effects the criticism, which came even from within his own team, will have on him. Some sources indicated at the end of the season that McLaren’s technical staff did not appreciate Hamilton’s behavior, especially after his pole position in South Korea, as Jenson Button emerged as a new leader. Only time will tell, especially if, like in 2011, the Briton faces new disappointments.