“That embarrassment while returning to the pits”, the hidden side of the champion – Libero Quotidiano

From legend to legend. To talk about Lewis Hamilton, fresh from his 100th victory in Formula 1, he is Damon Hill. A hundredth victory not easy, the one centered at the Sochi gp, where the British after a bad start had slipped to seventh place. Then the “bad surprise” on the podium: Max Verstappen second after starting last. But that sensational “100” remains, never anyone like The Hammer.

And Damon Hill, 1996 world champion and Graham’s son of art, speaking on the podcast of F1 Nation he explained: “Max was only five seconds behind Lewis and at that moment you start to think that Lewis is stuck, trapped, and that he can’t go anywhere – he said -. But he has learned to be a patient pilot, knowing, in this case, that he would have to wait for the first stint and then activate the ‘Hammer Time’ mode. There was a moment – he remarked – when I thought that if he entered the pits immediately, Max would be back on track with a delay of 5 seconds from Lewis. The latter however, with clean air in front of him, caused the gap to increase instead of 20 seconds ”.

Therefore, Hill insists on the relationship between Hamilton and Mercedes, a fundamental link for the victories: “Lewis is a boy with a heart of gold – said Hill -, I noticed him walking back to the pits after qualifying, and I assure you he looked embarrassed during the debrief. He had to recover, and the team helped him a lot to get up. I’m not saying it had to be supported, but for sure took advantage of the positive energy and encouragement conveyed by the team. Mercedes believes in him, and supports him. He is a phenomenon, a term that is too often heralded. But winning 100 grand prizes isn’t just luck. He has had more or less lucky moments, but he is still a cut above almost everyone “, concludes Damon Hill in a portrait of Hamilton which, in some ways, surprises.