Hamilton – Mercedes: “Let’s keep our feet on the ground”
Presented as the favorites for this 2014 season, the Mercedes drivers will begin the championship with confidence in their new single-seater, which many of their competitors lack. However, Lewis Hamilton, who might try to clinch his second world title this year, prefers to remain very cautious.
Coming out of the final testing days in Bahrain, the Mercedes-powered teams appear to be the favorites. Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton, driving the two silver arrows of the Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team, dominated the top of the timesheets during the ten days of pre-season testing and completed a very significant number of kilometers. Enough to be very enthusiastic and aim for the world title.
However, Lewis Hamilton wants to keep a cool head and wait a few Grand Prix before displaying his ambitions, as he confirms in an interview for the official Formula 1 website: « It’s nice to start a new season knowing that we’ve covered a significant number of kilometers. We are probably one of the teams that has been able to work in the best possible way. We are set to fight for the championship, which is very positive, but let’s keep our feet on the ground. For the moment, even if everything indicates that we are going in the right direction, we still don’t know who is good and who isn’t. Reliability is going to be an important factor. »
When asked how the first race in Australia will unfold, the 2008 world champion doesn’t venture into making predictions but still thinks the Mercedes engines will be in the mix: It’s going to be a bit confusing. There will probably be some good surprises for the fans. Maybe a little bit like in 2012 when there were several different winners in the first races. Fortunately, Mercedes has provided a good engine. There are the Williams that seem competitive, and maybe the Force India will be up front as well. We could very well see Felipe Massa win the race, who knows?
Hamilton also shared his opinion on the appearance of the new cars presented this year. And of course, like any good competitor, the most important thing for him is that his car performs as well as possible, no matter what it looks like in the end: « Every year, when I look at the new cars, they seem worse and worse. But I’ve seen some really cool photos of ours, and I don’t think it’s that bad after all. After all, of course, a race car has one primary function: racing. And the W05 doesn’t seem too bad in that area. »
The philosophy and approach to racing of the Briton remain the same, despite all possible changes and the inherent pressure of being the favorite for this new season: « You must above all enjoy what you are doing, then do it with pleasure. And I always enjoy it! »
