Lewis Hamilton

Lewis Hamilton keen to sort out F1 future

admin — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 09:48:29 +0000

Last updated at 8:33 AM on 2nd February 2012 Lewis Hamilton has vowed to put an end to speculation over his future sooner rather than later this season.Hamilton is now in the final season of a five-year contract with McLaren worth £10million per year, with much of the focus likely to centre on whether he remains at a team he has been with since the age of 13. On track: Hamilton at the launch of the MP4-27 at McLaren HQ on Wednesday With seats expected to become available at all the major rivals – Red Bull, Ferrari and Mercedes – come the end of the campaign it appears as if Hamilton could have his pick. Much could depend on McLaren’s latest challenger, the MP4-27 that Hamilton and team-mate Jenson Button unveiled on Wednesday at the team’s headquarters in Woking. On the move: The McLaren man’s contract expires at the end of this season Asked about his future, the 27-year-old appreciates it is ‘going to be a big topic’, but will not allow it to linger and overshadow the campaign. He added: ‘At the moment the focus is on the preparation we have coming up for the season. ‘Probably after the first couple of races it’s something we will probably want to get out of the way. ‘We can then focus on the rest of the year without the team being concerned and without it being something hanging around, so then you guys (the media) won’t have to ask questions about it. ‘So I’ll try to get that out of the way at some stage, probably in the earlier part of the year rather than later.’ After appearing a tortured soul at the end of last season as the pain of his break-up with girlfriend Nicole Scherzinger compounded a number of on-track accidents, Hamilton is convinced he has rid himself of the mental demons that plagued him. A determined Hamilton said: ‘I want to win every race. I think I can. ‘I think I’ve the ability to. If the car is where we hope there’s no reason why we can’t do that. ‘The only thing that ever gets in your way is your own mind and your own insecurities or obstacles that you put in your way. ‘The most important thing is to put those things aside and to overcome them, and I think I have. ‘So I feel right….

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Lewis Hamilton vows to end speculation over McLaren future sooner rather than later

admin — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 08:59:54 +0000

What lies ahead: Lewis Hamilton promised to sort out his F1 future in the early part of the coming season Photo: ACTION IMAGES By Telegraph staff and agencies 4:37AM GMT 02 Feb 2012 Hamilton is now in the final season of a five-year contract with McLaren worth £10 million per year, with much of the focus likely to centre on whether he remains at a team he has been with since the age of 13. With seats expected to become available at all the major rivals – Red Bull, Ferrari and Mercedes – come the end of the campaign it appears as if Hamilton could have his pick. Much could depend on McLaren’s latest challenger, the MP4-27 that Hamilton and team-mate Jenson Button unveiled yesterday at the team’s headquarters in Woking. Asked by Press Association Sport as to his future, the 27-year-old appreciates it is ”going to be a big topic”, but will not allow it to linger and overshadow the campaign. He added: ”At the moment the focus is on the preparation we have coming up for the season. ”Probably after the first couple of races it’s something we will probably want to get out of the way. ”We can then focus on the rest of the year without the team being concerned and without it being something hanging around, so then you guys (the media) won’t have to ask questions about it. ”So I’ll try to get that out of the way at some stage, probably in the earlier part of the year rather than later.” After appearing a tortured soul at the end of last season as the pain of his break-up with girlfriend Nicole Scherzinger compounded a number of on-track accidents, Hamilton is convinced he has rid himself of the mental demons that plagued him. A determined Hamilton said: ”I want to win every race. I think I can. ”I think I’ve the ability to. If the car is where we hope there’s no reason why we can’t do that. ”The only thing that ever gets in your way is your own mind and your own insecurities or obstacles that you put in your way. ”The most important thing is to put those things aside and to overcome them, and I think I have. ”So…

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Photo: McLaren MP4-27 Technical Launch 2012

admin — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 23:19:06 +0000

Zip250 @ Flickr

McLaren MP4-27 Technical Launch 2012
McLaren have revealed their latest F1 contender.
The MP4-27 is the car the team hope will allow Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton to compete for the championship in 2012.

Lewis Hamilton no longer his own worst enemy

admin — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 16:31:35 +0000

By Alan Baldwin | Reuters – WOKING, England (Reuters) – If Lewis Hamilton was his own worst enemy at times last year, the McLaren driver assured the world on Wednesday that he would be starting the new Formula One season very much at ease with himself again. Smiling and greeting reporters with a firm gaze and familiar iron handshake, the 2008 world champion explained that he had spent his winter weeks sorting out his mind and finding his way to a happier place. “I think it was just a fantastic winter where I got to spend time with friends and family and really was able to wind down,” said the 27-year-old, who complained last year about feeling burnt out. “I let loose for the first week where I did a bit of skiing and then I ate pancakes and all that stuff that I said I wasn’t going to do,” he told Reuters after the launch of the new MP4-27 car at the Woking factory. “I then got into quite an intense training regime and sat down in between times where I analysed the year and certain things in my personal life which weren’t as good as they could be and went about correcting those things. “Today I just feel very fresh in my mind and very free of perhaps any of the burdens that I had on me last year.” Hamilton’s 2011 season was punctuated by crashes and collisions, mostly with Ferrari’s Felipe Massa, and his on/off/on again relationship with American pop singer Nicole Scherzinger. He said he was now fully focused on the job of being a grand prix driver. “What I have decided to do this year is just focus on the most important thing and that’s racing,” he said. “Of course I accept that my personal life is in the domain but I’d rather just focus on racing. But things are good. So I’m happy.” CONTRACT TALKS Hamilton won three races last season but was beaten by Jenson Button, the first team mate who has ever finished a campaign ahead of him overall. Despite that fact, bookmakers have already established Hamilton as 5/1 joint second favourite for the title along with Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso, behind Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel but ahead of Button on 7/1. “I want to win every race. I think I can,” he said of the season that starts in Melbourne on March 18….

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Lewis Hamilton is a coward, says former Force India Formula One driver Adrian Sutil

admin — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 15:45:12 +0000

Fallout: Adrian Sutil with Lewis Hamilton during happier times Photo: EPA Former Force India driver Sutil was convicted of causing grievous bodily harm in a nightclub confrontation in China and given an 18-month suspended sentence on Tuesday. Hamilton declined to testify because of what he said were previous commitments with his McLaren team. “Lewis is a coward, I don’t want to be friends with someone like that,” Sutil told Bild newspaper. “For me, he is not a man. Even his father sent me a (text message) wishing me luck at the trial. I got nothing from Lewis. He changed his mobile number. I couldn’t reach him.” Hamilton witnessed the incident at a party following Hamilton’s victory at the China Grand Prix in Shanghai on April 17 last year when Sutil cut Renault team executive Eric Lux in the neck with a champagne glass. Lux needed two dozen stitches. Sutil said he only wanted to spill his drink on Lux, who was part owner of the team now renamed Lotus, and that causing the injury was completely “unintentional and accidental.” Sutil was also fined €200,000 (£166.760), to be paid to charities. The 29-year-old Sutil lost his seat at Force India after five seasons to German compatriot Nico Hulkenberg in December. Sutil is without a team for this year. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you’re reading it on someone else’s site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Donate to Wikileaks.

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Lewis Hamilton is a coward, says Adrian Sutil

admin — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 11:48:38 +0000

By Philip Duncan Last updated at 2:53 PM on 1st February 2012 Guilty: Sutil was convicted of causing grievous bodily harm Former Force India driver Adrian Sutil has branded Lewis Hamilton ‘a coward’ and claimed he no longer regarded him as a friend after the British star failed to appear as a witness in his assault case. Sutil was handed a 18-month suspended prison sentence and a £167,000 fine on Tuesday after being convicted of causing grievous bodily harm. The 29-year-old was found guilty of striking Renault chief Eric Lux around the neck with a champagne glass – a wound that required 24 stitches – after Hamilton’s victory at the Chinese Grand Prix in April last year. Hamilton was due to appear as a witness at the two-day trial in Munich but informed officials he would be unable to testify due to commitments with McLaren. He instead submitted a written statement to say he didn’t see the incident. Friendship over: Sutil has called Hamilton ‘a coward’ after failing to testify And speaking to German newspaper Bild, Sutil blasted the McLaren star. ‘Lewis is a coward, I don’t want to be friends with someone like that,’ he said. ‘For me, he is not a man. Even his father sent me a (text message) wishing me luck at the trial. I got nothing from Lewis. He changed his mobile number. I couldn’t reach him.’Sutil, who has lost his drive at Force India for the upcoming season, insisted he only wanted to spill his drink on Lux and the incident was ‘unintentional and accidental.’Asked for his reaction, Hamilton was prevented from replying by a McLaren spokesman.He said: ‘We’ve been told that Lewis shouldn’t really go there (talk about the case) because it might go under appeal. So can we move on to the next question.”I’ll listen to him,’ said Hamilton. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you’re reading it on someone else’s site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Donate to Wikileaks.

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Photo: Lewis Hamilton 2011

admin — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 18:14:43 +0000

Gonzo Alonso @ Flickr

McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh defends ‘brilliant’ Lewis Hamilton

admin — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 16:36:07 +0000

My man: McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh (left) has defended Lewis Hamilton Photo: GETTY IMAGES By Telegraph staff and agencies 2:32PM GMT 27 Jan 2012 McLaren are just five days away from launching their new car they hope will finally propel them ahead of Red Bull following two years of dominance from their Milton Keynes-based rivals and drivers’ champion Sebastian Vettel. Last season, in particular, was tough for Hamilton who was embroiled in numerous incidents on track, appearing to lose focus at times as personal issues off it also affected him. So when asked whether ”a serious chat” was required with the 27-year-old following ”a tough 2011”, Whitmarsh’s response was emphatic. ”Lewis won three grands prix in 2011, one of only three drivers to have won more than a single race,” said Whitmarsh. ”The other two were Sebastian and (McLaren team-mate) Jenson (Button). Again, just as most teams have never and will never win six grands prix in a single season, as McLaren did last year, it’s equally true to say most drivers have never and will never win three grands prix in a single season, as Lewis did last year. ”Indeed, some of the most compelling highlights of last season’s on-track action, from the point of view of a racer’s sheer talent shining through, were provided by Lewis. In China, Germany and Abu Dhabi, and in many other places besides, he was awesomely impressive. ”Nonetheless, you described 2011 as ‘a tough season’ for Lewis and undoubtedly there’s some truth in that. But, such is the level of his ambition that he’s his own sternest critic. ”Sometimes, therefore, when things don’t go quite right for him, he lets it get to him. We saw that last year sometimes. But it’s a measure of his competitiveness, a side effect of his monumental will to win. ”As such, we wouldn’t want Lewis any other way. He’s a truly brilliant racing driver – one of the fastest we’ve ever seen. And that’s why, throughout last year, we were always keen to reassure him we were backing him 100%.” Underlining what Hamilton has achieved with McLaren in his five years in F1 with the Woking-based team, and many more beyond that given he was recruited at an early age, Whitmarsh, speaking…

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Photo: 2011 McLaren-Mercedes MP4-26

admin — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 01:53:43 +0000

Neil 01 @ Flickr

Pictured is a 2011 McLaren-Mercedes MP4-26 Grand Prix Car.
It was driven in 2011 by Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton.
The MP4-26 was an enigma throughout 2011. When launched at the start of the season, the car was completely off the pace and there were worries that McLaren’s season would be over before it started. However, by the time the cars arrived for the first race in Australia, the modifications made by McLaren worked immediately and the MP4-26 was the only car capable of challenging the dominant Red Bull-Renault of Sebastian Vettel.
The MP4-26 would win six races during 2011, Button and Hamilton both winning on three occasions. The drivers would end the season second (Button) and fifth (Hamilton) in the drivers championship, McLaren as runner up to Red Bull in the constructors championship.
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Pictured in January 2012 at the Autosport International show at the NEC in Birmingham.

Photo: Goodwood 2011, Lewis Hamilton in a ex-Senna Mclaren

admin — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 22:52:24 +0000

mini_pickles @ Flickr