LEWIS HAMILTON believes he can learn a trick or two from the ice-cool nature of Finnish rivals Kimi Raikkonen and Heikki Kovalainen.
Hamilton also works with another Finn within McLaren in Aki Hintsa, who has the grandiose title of Head of Human Performance. Prior to the start of the last two seasons, Hamilton has headed to Finland to be put through a rigorous fitness regime. The
23-year-old concedes to enjoying the Finnish lifestyle, appreciating why a relatively small country has produced a number of outstanding drivers in various disciplines over the years.
“The mentality of Finnish people, and athletes specifically, there is a difference and you can take something from that,” remarked Hamilton. “I generally find myself going there and relaxing. It’s so quiet by the lakes, sitting by the fire having sausages!”
Ahead of tomorrow’s German Grand Prix, Hamilton appears the man to beat following a dominant performance in yesterday’s practice. Hamilton finished more than 0.6 seconds quicker than Kovalainen at the end of the day, and had a 0.7sec advantage over Felipe Massa in the second session in particular. Even though it is fair to assume he was on low fuel when he set his hot lap, it still represents a remarkable gap.
Hamilton is convinced he is far better equipped to mount a title challenge throughout the second half of this year compared to last season. “I feel much, much better than last year. I feel much more positive and confident as a driver than I did last year,” he said.
The full article contains 269 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
