F1 news - Lewis Hamilton needs a tuned car
Lewis Hamilton is looking forward to the upcoming Belgian Spa with a little fine tuning to his car. Speculations are that his car would be the same as in the Hungarian Grand Prix almost a month ago.
Hamilton lost his lead in the drivers’ standings after last week’s disastrous race and Mark Webber won the race. Ferrari and Red Bull have been the better teams in the past two races and Hamilton is not expecting any wonderful surprises this weekend either.
“I don't think anything will change after the shutdown. I expect the car to be the same as after the last race. We have to do some more tests while here on Friday and Saturday to get more information back to understand where extra time and extra down-force is, and only then can we really move forward”, he said.
Lewis Hamilton came in the Formula 1 in 2007, as McLaren required two drivers that year. Hamilton was lucky enough to drive alongside the two-time world champion Fernando Alonso, fulfilling his lifelong dream of driving in McLaren. His first season was full of excitement and drama as the 25-year-old constantly outperformed his teammate Fernando Alonso after scoring podium positions in his first nine races in the Formula 1 back-to-back. He scored his first win at the Canadian Grand Prix followed by another a week later in the U.S. Grand Prix. It seemed then that he would achieve the impossible by winning the title in his very first season, as he led the championship in the first half of the season.
However, the drivers’ had to fight for the championship until the very last race at Brazil. Lewis was leading Alonso and Raikkonen by four and seven points respectively. The 25-year-old faced a gear box problem in his car, which caused him to lose the Championship to Kimi Raikkonen by a single point.
Lewis was more determined in 2008, as he now knew that he is capable of winning the championship. After another dramatic season, the championship again went to a final-race decider, and this time Lewis was 7 points clear of the Brazilian Felipe Massa in the Ferrari, finishing in the top 5 to secure the Championship. Things were not smooth for the veteran British driver again but he did not let anyone get in his way then and won the title.
After two dreamlike seasons, Hamilton had a disastrous season in 2009, with him scoring a disappointing 5th place in the drivers’ standings with just 49 points. Lewis is at his best again this season, and hopes to win the title for the second time this season.
The former world champion feels the MP4-25 has a lot of potential and said that the team will have to try to ‘unlock’ it in order to compete with the Red Bull.
He said he felt there was plenty of potential within the car, and that McLaren has to unlock that potential to keep ahead of their competitors. The British believes there is still some untapped downforce in the car that the team has not been able to utilize at the moment. The team is working very hard as always to try to figure it out, and Lewis is paying very close attention to the happenings. The former champion is keeping a close eye on everything and encouraging the team to do what is best for them.
However, he is aware that the MP4-25 will suit better in the fast sweeping curves of Spa Francorchamps than the tight and twisting Hungaroring before the summer break.
“Obviously there are a lot of high speed corners here but you still need efficient downforce. We should be a little bit better here than we were in Hungary - I am looking forward to the upcoming race. Hope the weather clears up as it's not so great for us at the moment,” said Lewis.
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