McLaren's Lewis Hamilton is 'in a good place' for the 2012 F1 title

[Dare]

Always funny how Button plays 2nd fiddle to
Hamilton.At the  least he's a equal



McLaren's Lewis Hamilton says he is "in a good place" mentally after a winter spent analysing his mistakes from 2011.
The Englishman is aiming to create an environment in which he can perform more consistently than last year.
"I feel great. I'm trying to take all the right steps towards keeping myself focused on the main goal, which is winning the world championship," said Hamilton, who won the title in 2008.
"As long as we have the car, there is no reason why we can't do that."
It was announced on Wednesday that Didier Coton, who previously worked with double world champion and former McLaren driver Mika Hakkinen, would join Hamilton's management team.


Not having the right combination of people around him was one of the reasons Hamilton gave for his troubled mindset last year.
"It's definitely a step towards that direction," said Hamilton. "I think I'm closer to having that already.
"It was not necessarily having someone who knows more about Formula 1, but having someone there who I can offload a lot of stuff to. Last year I didn't always have someone there. I wanted to make it our goal to make sure we have someone there at grands prix. And we have Didier.
"Didier's been a good friend of mine for many years and he's got great experience of my team and the F1 paddock.
"I thought it would be good to have him just there when I need him. That's generally what he's there for."
The 27-year-old added: "I feel like I'm in a good place. I've made some good choices over the last few months and hopefully that will reflect on the season."
Hamilton was speaking at the end of his first day of testing in the 2012 McLaren, about which he said his initial impressions were "pretty good".
He finished the session in Jerez, Spain, fourth fastest, fractionally behind the reigning world champion Sebastian Vettel's Red Bull.
The fastest time was set by Nico Rosberg in a 2011 Mercedes, followed by the new Lotus of novice Romain Grosjean.
Hamilton will resume testing on Friday, the final day of four days of running at the track.

[F1fanaticBD]

So this year he is gonna offload to Didier, replacement of Nicole :tease
He started to make people go OFFROAD... I am sure Massa will the one who will be more than glad, knowing he someone else to bang and OFFLOAD...

Sorry Lewis, been your fan and will be so..just could not stop myself laughing...

I want you to shatter all the chatter boxes that keep popping about you...let the drive do the talking...Good luck for that...

[John S]

I should think Felipe will be more than glad to pay Didier's wages if it stops Lewis taking his aggro out on him.     

Let your driving do the talking Lewis, and for Pete's sake make us believe you enjoy the privilege of piloting a top F1 car.



 

[Scott]

Always funny how Button plays 2nd fiddle to
Hamilton.At the  least he's a equal

How so Dare?  The article doesn't even mention Button.  I think Button is team leader, without a doubt, and I bet at the moment the management at Mclaren think so too.  Apparently Button has his life in order so they didn't need to write an article about him needing a shoulder to cry on when he crashes with Massa.  Oh, that's right Button doesn't crash with Massa.     

[vintly]

Anywhere's a 'good place' for Lewis now that last year's behind him. I wanna see him do great, but he could do with changing the record. Either talking less, or talking about things other than how well he thinks he'll do this year/weekend/race. Every weekend last year he was banging on about how he genuinely thought he would win - and unless you do win the race that sort of talk only makes you feel worse, and look, well, a bit silly.

This could be a really make or break year for Lewis. Even if Jenson beats him again he could still be riding high, as everyone knows how quick he is. As long as he's shown to mature, and has a significantly better year than last year, the likes of Ferrari and Red Bull will still be interested. If however he has another howler, his stock will plummet, and the inevitable sulking will only compound the situation. He could end up having to beg McLaren for a 12 month contract...

Whatever happens, I can't wait!!

[f1bettings]

He won a few races in what is considered a really bad year for him.  This was personal problems and not having the best car.  He will probably have a better car this year and he appears to have moved on from 2011 so expecting to see a better year from Hamilton with a better chance at winning the title and making the season more competitive.

[vintly]

Agreed he didn't have the best car, and three wins was ok considering, but you can't cite 'personal problems' as a factor. Being the best means having all that side of things sorted too, or at least being able to rise above them when the time counts. I want to see an improvement in his decision making at key points - see the table below!

http://i530.photobucket.com/albums/dd346/vintly/F1_2011_Penalties.png[/img]]

[Scott]

Absolutely. 

Niki Lauda, when he was half burned to death...he had personal problems (ok, medical, but the pain he was in was immeasurable compared to Hamilton's broken heart) that season, and he won.  Lewis?  Come on. 

If you are an F1 driver, you better be prepared to leave EVERY aspect of your personal life at the paddock gate.  If you can't do that, you have no right to be in F1. 

[Jericoke]

Absolutely. 

Niki Lauda, when he was half burned to death...he had personal problems (ok, medical, but the pain he was in was immeasurable compared to Hamilton's broken heart) that season, and he won.  Lewis?  Come on. 

If you are an F1 driver, you better be prepared to leave EVERY aspect of your personal life at the paddock gate.  If you can't do that, you have no right to be in F1. 

I think we can all name a dozen F1 greats with more toughness than the current grid combined.  (For example, I'm sure that the elevator shaft that broke Moss's ankles was absolutely obliterated by the impact of Mr Motor...)

Honestly, I rather enjoy the 'depth' modern athletes are allowed to show.  So what if every second of Hamilton's life isn't dedicated to F1?  If he's going to make me happy, putting on a show every two weeks, I wish him to be happy too.  (The same for all drivers, of course)

[Scott]

I said the paddock gate.  I think dedicating every second of a 3-day weekend twenty times per year is a reasonable request considering he wouldn't even have a celebrity girlfriend if it wasn't for F1.