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Wolff: Hamilton's off-track adventures important for his form

Published on 17 Aug 2019 14:45
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By: Fergal Walsh

Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff believes that Lewis Hamilton's interests away from the circuit are important for the Briton's Formula 1 form.

Hamilton has a number of projects that don't involve racing that he works on in his spare time, such as music and fashion.

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In the past, the five-time world champion has been criticised for the amount of effort he puts into the projects - however Wolff sees it as a positive way for Hamilton to relax away from a race weekend.

“I believe that Lewis’ various other interests, music or fashion, take his mind off between the races," Wolff said. “Having a good time is something I think is very positive and very important for his performance on the racing track.

“We are very open with each other with what we do. We ‘Facetime’, we send videos and I feel in a very good place with him.”

Wolff described Hamilton as a "raw diamond" when he first entered F1 in 2007 with McLaren and believes he has matured greatly throughout his years at Mercedes.

“He’s an integral part of the team and has developed as a racing driver, but even more spectacularly as a human being," Wolff stated.

“When he joined from McLaren, it was for me like a raw diamond in a sense. You could see complications in his life and maybe a lack of stability in understanding what was needed.

“All that disappeared through the Mercedes years. And every year he became a better Lewis and, knock on wood, in the last two, three years we’ve barely seen any mistakes.

“And if they happen, he’s the first one to admit them and that has contributed to our culture of being brutally honest with each other.”

Pistonhead

Posts: 556

You know what it feels like to fly between timezones....doing it 100+ times a year must have an impact I don't care who you are - so even if Im half-right - it kinda highlights how much above the rest he actually is, I mean, he makes next to no mistakes - somehow he is able to dodge the tiredn... [Read more]

1
Aug 18 2019 - 03:05

F1 News Lewis Hamilton Toto Wolff Mercedes

Replies (5)

Dert38

Posts: 377
xDD
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- Aug 17 2019 - 20:42
ajpennypacker

Posts: 2,475
The thing is that we will never know if Lewis' lifestyle is helpful or not. Clearly, he is able to perform at an incredible level with that lifestyle. But I think to suggest that it's helpful is pushing things a bit. If anything, we have evidence from his days at McLaren that his life outside of F1 messed up at least one or two races per year. He'd always come later explaining what happened. Something with the girlfriend, his dad, not enough sleep because of a party, etc.

But hey, if the partying lifestyle is bad for Lewis that would be scary for the rest... To think he could be even better
- + 0
- Aug 17 2019 - 23:05
- calle.itw
  
  Posts: 8,527
  Still, the same could be said about most drivers. Imagine a Vettel that didn't make awkward issues last year, or a Max that won't do rushed moves. We're spoiled with talent right now, and multiple drivers have some really rad raw pace, but they all have their respective cons. Some more unfortunate than others.
  + 0
  
  Aug 19 2019 - 17:39
Pistonhead

Posts: 556
You know what it feels like to fly between timezones....doing it 100+ times a year must have an impact I don't care who you are - so even if Im half-right - it kinda highlights how much above the rest he actually is, I mean, he makes next to no mistakes - somehow he is able to dodge the tiredness that would impact of many of us....
- + 1
- Aug 18 2019 - 03:05
- Ram Samartha
  
  Posts: 1,172
  Me thinks you may be right. He's kind of straight for the party lifestyle but perceptions being what they are, I would say that on a bad day he's still better(more disciplined) than most. Never have been much of a Ham fan, but he has really stepped up and stepped out of his pop star stereotype to perform like a champ. When I contrast his career to Ver's he matured faster, won championships faster and made good career choices faster. When compared to Vettel he is more consistent and makes fewer misakes. When compared to many partyers that I know, he's pretty tame, even compared to Kimi, whom he outperforms on a regular basis. So other than the distractions of fame and the jet-set lifestyle I don't see many things that impair his ability to perform at the highest level. Let him do Ham and you got a winner. Why interfere?
  + 0
  
  Aug 18 2019 - 06:02