Last season in the McLaren cockpit was a tumultuous one for British driver Lewis Hamilton. Beset with personal issues, from ditching his father as manager to the high-profile break-up with singer girlfriend Nicole Scherzinger.
Penalties on the track drew questions and criticism from Jackie Stewart and Niki Lauda over the safety of his driving and a fall-out with Ferrari’s Felipe Massa.
In terms of results, his three Grand Prix wins – including Abu Dhabi – were tempered by a trio of disappointing retirements and poor performances in India and Malaysia. It is no surprise therefore that the 27-year-old is looking forward to the 2012 season with renewed relish and focus, and the 2008 champion’s enthusiasm and excitement is evident as he gears up for the first race of the season in Melbourne on March 16-18.
You are starting your sixth season, how does it feel?
It feels very much like it was only yesterday that I went up to Ron Dennis, when I was 10, and explained to him that I wanted to race for his team. But it’s been a fantastic journey.
Do you think that with the new changes Red Bull has lost some of the advantage? And with the work that you have done you may be able to catch up, or is it going to be still a run after Red Bull?
I think the Red Bulls will be strong. They’re not going to suddenly build a bad car after twice winning the championship. We don’t know where we stand yet, but I think the important thing is we stay focused on what we’re doing and try to do the best job we can over the weeks of testing before the first race and we’ll see where we are then.
Is it important to start the season on a good basis?
I think the guys have learnt a lot from last year. I think we are the strongest team in terms of development, we have the fastest rate of development I think, us and Red Bull, but I think we are just ahead hopefully. So this should be able to give us a very strong position to start our season.
What have you done during the winter in terms of preparation for the new season?
I was over in the cold, in the mountains in Colorado, and spending time with family and friends and lots of training. I didn’t actually miss much, I wasn’t missing the car, it was nice to be away from it for a while and just to… just get the energy back just to refresh, start off new. Getting back into the training was great, it was fantastic this year, and I think I altered it a little bit to last year. I think last year I was training too much at the beginning. This year we balanced it a lot better.
You and team-mate Jenson Button make up one third of the world champions that will be on the grid in 2012; is this going to be the toughest year ever?
We love the competition. It’s brilliant to have so many great drivers out there. We hope that there’s not too many more champions added. There are definitely enough!
How do you prepare? We’ve heard a lot of talk about using the simulation technology. How useful, from a driver’s point of view, is it in terms of getting the car set up, ready and knowing where you are?
Yes, it is very useful. Between races we’ll spend days in the simulator and it’s a great tool for setting up your car. It’s not just about learning circuits any more, it is about setting your car up for when you arrive at the test so that you’re ready, and also you try different things that you wouldn’t have the opportunity to do at a circuit.
What are your thoughts on the 2012 car?
I think it’s fantastic. Just seeing the hard work that’s gone into building this car is, you know, it’s very inspiring. The 2012 car is probably the most refined-looking car we’ve had for some time now, so very excited to get into it.
The car looks very much like an evolution of last year, what has changed?
We’ve changed the sidepods, we had the L-shaped sidepods in 2011. The front of the car is very much the same. The nose dips down a little bit different; we’ve changed our wing mirrors a little bit, so hopefully we’ll be able to see a lot better, which is something I was pushing hard for.
In 2012, there are subtle changes to the regulations. How beneficial is that to a racing team going forward?
There are a couple of changes in the regulations with the blowing of the diffuser, which can be quite big, there’s quite a lot of lap time there, but also there’s a change in the front of the nose of the car, of the height of the nose of the car, so there are a few.
Obviously, it’s difficult to know how the car will be until that first test, but what is your feeling?
I think we work very closely as a team. We are two different drivers that demand different things from a car, and I think me and Jenson generally have very, very similar set-ups so we are demanding very much the same thing. So the car is going in one direction rather than in two different directions, so I don’t feel that it’s going to benefit him more than it’s going to benefit me.
How much are you looking forward to racing in the United States again, a new Grand Prix and a new track in Austin? I’ve never been to Austin but I’ve heard great things about the city itself, and I’ve heard also great things about the circuit, the layout, and hopefully we can put on a great show when we get there.
Which track are you most looking forward to visiting this year, either for the first time or a track that you’ve been successful at before?
You always look at which races you’ve won and which you haven’t won, and obviously there’s the new circuits like India, we’ve only been there once. But of course Monaco is always probably the most exciting Grand Prix of the year and so that’s the one for me. I want to get back there and have a better race in 2012, than I did last year.
Your own personal targets and goals for the year?
Be in the front.
