08/02/2017
NEWS STORY
As we wait to see how Lewis Hamilton's latest teammate fares, one particular observer feels the battle has already been won.
Anthony Hamilton, Lewis' father, has seen them all come and go... Fernando Alonso, Heikki Kovalainen, Jenson Button and Nico Rosberg, three of them world champions at one time or another.
And now as Valtteri Bottas steps into the seat vacated by Rosberg, Hamilton Snr. doesn't envy him.
"Lewis believes he's unbeatable and he is," he told Newsweek, "on a good day he is unbeatable and so he's not surprised that people find it tough to stay the course.
"My own personal view is that anyone who goes up against Lewis really needs to have their career mapped out for them," he warned. "Because it's a career killer. Lewis kills drivers. Actually that's not a statement.
"He gets under your skin, because he is fast like hell," he explained. "And you can't figure out how he's developed the car, how he has got the speed, how he can take that corner, how he can take that lane and it screws with your head.
"You can't calculate it, you can't figure it out, he just has that feeling," he said of his son's natural ability inside the car. "And when the chips are down, that's when the best comes out of Lewis.
"So you can test on the Friday, test on the Saturday, qualify and if the car's not working, he just comes back and drives the pants off it on Sunday and forgets all about the Friday test and the Saturday test. Now how do you figure that out?
"It's a natural thing. It's like he gets up in the morning and says, 'Today I'm going to have a good day.' Whatever happens, you're going to make sure you have a good day, aren't you? So it just depends how strong you are. Not just how strong you are but how much experience you have had of mustering all of your strength to do something you believe is beyond your capability."
Asked if he feels the change of teammate will bother his son, Hamilton said: "Lewis would much rather have Nico as his teammate because they have known each other since they were 13 and it spurs Lewis on. It's a good rivalry. But Lewis only has one desire and ambition right now, which is to claim back the title if he can, if the car is good and everything works in his favour. He's not thinking about Nico or Bottas. He's not thinking about anybody, just about himself and winning the championship again for the team.
"They know each other reasonably well," he said of the Finn. "I think Lewis has got huge respect for him and for everybody. I can only speak for myself and how I trained Lewis. When I trained Lewis I trained him to be a gentleman off the track and a mercenary on the track. So it doesn't matter how friendly you are with people. Nico was a great friend, but on the track Lewis was a mercenary and that's how he is. And that's how you get the best out of him."
Asked who he feels is best-placed to challenge Lewis this year, other than the guy in the adjacent garage, Hamilton said: "The top guys you saw last year I think are going to be the main rivals this year.
"It's going to be interesting about Valtteri," he continued, "he's not really been mixing it with those other guys at the top so it will be interesting to see how he gets on. If he's all of a sudden in the mix then that will be really interesting.
"Otherwise, I think young Max is going to—if they (Red Bull) have got a good car, I think Max is going to be interesting. Ricciardo is going to be interesting. I'd like to think Fernando is going to be interesting, Vettel is going to be interesting. It's an exciting season. And if Nico Hulkenberg can get that Renault working, that's going to be great too. I look forward to that."