25/05/2016
FEATURE BY GUEST AUTHORS
At what point do extracurricular excursions start to inhibit one's performance at work?
Toto Wolff may have the answer.
For nearly two years, it seemed that Formula One came pretty easy to Wolff's star driver, Lewis Hamilton.
Over a span of 35 Grand Prix races - from the 2014 season-opening race in Albert Park, until he clinched his second successive title at the Circuit of the Americas in 2015 - Hamilton recorded 21 victories. During this impressive span, he outscored teammate Nico Rosberg by 147 points and finished ahead of the German 70 per cent of the time.
But following his triumph in Texas, Hamilton's fortunes changed. He failed to win any of the following eight F1 races, while Rosberg achieved seven wins and tallied 64 more points.
Ask the obsessive Hamilton fans "lying in their beds with their laptops on their chests" to explain this turn of fortune, and they'll spout off about conspiracy theories and sabotage, and then return their focus to Instagram to gawk over the latest images posted by the World Champion.
Maybe if they studied those pictures a little closer, they'd come to a more rational conclusion as to the foundation of Hamilton's recent troubles.
Where in the world is the World Champion?
It's easy to spend an evening (or three) perusing the extensive travel log that is the official @lewishamilton Instagram account. It's hard to remain unenvious of the journeys he's taken, the sights he's seen and the celebrities he's rubbed shoulders with.
Since his last win, Lewis Hamilton has visited 18 countries. He's crossed the Atlantic Ocean 19 times and has flown approximately 250,000 km - enough to circle the Earth six times.
Over the winter break, he made trips to Kuala Lumpur, Paris, London, Toronto, Los Angeles, Colorado, Miami, Mexico, Geneva, San Francisco, New York and Auckland. In addition to testing and sponsorship commitments, his itinerary included fundraisers, awards galas, talk shows and fashion events. He's witnessed a NASCAR race, NBA games and the Super Bowl.
And who wouldn't adore his video with little Ayrton, a friendly lion cub at a Mexican animal sanctuary?
Maybe Toto Wolff.
The conspi... desynchronosis theory
Lewis Hamilton still performs at a high level on track. Many of his recent difficulties can be put down to simple bad luck. But F1 results are measured to the thousandth of a second - and sometimes every thousandth is needed to determine what driver secures pole and exits turn one in the lead. With margins this small, any lapse in focus or preparation opens the door for rivals to pounce.
With his current travel schedule, how can Hamilton fight through the constant jet lag and maintain the consistency that became a staple of his two title wins with Mercedes?
He'd have to be superhuman to do it. Jet lag, medically called "Desynchronosis," can occur when a person crosses just two time zones. Since his last victory, Hamilton has crossed 190.
Consider his travels in a two-week period between the Mexican and Brazilian races near the end of the 2015 season. From Mexico City he ventured to New York to attend a fundraiser; then traveled to London for his mother's birthday party; then returned home to Monaco where he crashed his road car; and then flew to Sao Paulo - crossing 11 time zones in total. In Brazil, Hamilton lost pole to Rosberg and finished the race 7.7 seconds behind.
The fortnight that separated the 2016 Russian and Spanish races saw Hamilton negotiate 14 time zones. From Sochi he headed to New York for the Met Gala; then journeyed south to Barbados for a speed festival. He eventually trekked back across the Atlantic to Barcelona, where an overly aggressive passing attempt resulted in a clumsy first-lap collision with his teammate.
I've been everywhere, man
All F1 drivers have busy travel commitments. But most restrict their trans-ocean journeys and lavish vacations to the summer break in August or after the season has concluded. Hamilton does all that and more.
It's entirely possible that the globetrotting lifestyle caught up with the triple World Champion, and then passed him on the inside. Rosberg followed through and hasn't looked back.
If Lewis Hamilton retains any ambition of capturing his third successive driver's championship, he may wish to consider parking his Challenger 605 in a Heathrow hanger, return to Monaco for some serious downtime and leave the sightseeing to his fans - should they manage to eventually turn off their laptops and crawl out of bed.
|
Date |
|
|
Zones |
Distance Kms |
|
| Barcelona | Spain | 5 | 6700 | Grand Prix | |
| 11-May | Barbados | Barbados | 1 | 3318 | Festival of Speed |
| 02-May | New York City | U.S.A. | 8 | 8641 | Met Gala 2016 |
| Sochi | Russia | 8 | 8641 | Grand Prix | |
| 26-Apr | New York City | U.S.A. | 6 | 6465 | Time100 Gala |
| 18-Apr | Berlin | Germany | 6 | 4767 | Laureus World Sport Awards |
| Shanghai | China | 0 | 1001 | Grand Prix | |
| 11-Apr | Beijing | China | 11 | 11167 | Grand Prix |
| 08-Apr | New York City | U.S.A. | 5 | 5637 | |
| 07-Apr | London | U.K. | 3 | 5072 | Hugo Boss photo shoot |
| Sakhir | Bahrain | 7 | 12079 | Grand Prix | |
| Melbourne | Australia | 2 | 2655 | Grand Prix | |
| 14-Mar | Auckland | New Zealand | 11 | 18232 | Sightseeing |
| 11-Mar | Stuttgart | Germany | 0 | 508 | |
| 07-Mar | Paris | France | 0 | 778 | Paris Fashion Week |
| 01-Mar | Barcelona | Spain | 9 | 9688 | F1 Testing |
| 29-Feb | Los Angeles | U.S.A. | 8 | 8798 | Elton John Foundation Oscar viewing party |
| 27-Feb | London | U.K. | 1 | 1125 | |
| 22-Feb | Barcelona | Spain | 0 | 778 | F1 Testing |
| 16-Feb | Paris | France | 6 | 5919 | |
| 09-Feb | New York City | U.S.A. | 3 | 4174 | amfAR event; Hugo Boss shoot; Zoolander2 premiere |
| 07-Feb | San Francisco | U.S.A. | 3 | 3684 | |
| 27-Feb | Toronto | Canada | 6 | 6087 | Training; Niagara Falls sightseeing |
| 22-Jan | Paris | France | 0 | 363 | |
| 19-Jan | Geneva | Switzerland | 7 | 9617 | IWC watches event |
| 08-Jan | Mexico City | Mexico | 1 | 2061 | Vacation; animal santuary |
| 02-Jan | Maimi | U.S.A. | 2 | 2794 | Miami Heat game |
| 25-Dec | Colorado | U.S.A. | 8 | 8366 | Christmas vacation |
| 12-Dec | Stuttgart | Germany | 1 | 749 | Stars and Cars |
| 12-Dec | London | U.K. | 8 | 8798 | Jonathan Ross show |
| 10-Dec | Los Angeles | U.S.A. | 3 | 3492 | Late Late Show;Jimmy Kimmel Live |
| 07-Dec | Toronto | Canada | 0 | 590 | Toronto Raptors game |
| 06-Dec | Washington | U.S.A. | 6 | 6262 | George Lucas award |
| 05-Dec | Paris | France | 1 | 378 | |
| 03-Dec | London | U.K. | 8 | 10568 | ITV taping |
| 01-Dec | Kuala Lumpur | Malaysia | 4 | 5553 | |
| 25-Nov | Abu Dhabi | U.A.E. | 3 | 5522 | Grand Prix |
| 23-Nov | London | U.K. | 5 | 7197 | British Fashion Awards |
| 21-Nov | Miami | U.S.A. | 6 | 7960 | NASCAR Race |
| 18-Nov | Monte Carlo | Monaco | 4 | 9185 | |
| 11-Nov | Sao Paulo | Brazil | 4 | 9185 | Grand Prix |
| Monte Carlo | Monaco | 1 | 1056 | ||
| 08-Nov | London | U.K. | 5 | 5637 | Mom’s birthday party |
| 05-Nov | New York | U.S.A. | 1 | 3348 | KCA Black Ball fundraiser |
| 28-Oct | Mexico City | Mexico | 2 | 2521 | Grand Prix |
| 25-Oct | Los Angeles | U.S.A. | 1 | 1980 | |
| Austin | U.S.A. | Grand Prix |