F1 Generations by Frank Worrall

Author:Frank Worrall
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Blink
Published: 2025-10-26T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 8

TECHNIQUE

When Lewis Hamilton is under starter’s orders, his opening car stance differs from many drivers. While others have both hands on the steering wheel, he keeps just his left hand there. He then operates the clutch paddle with his other hand. The move is to gain a competitive edge by allowing for faster clutch releases, but also to limit the risk of an accidental downshift.

It is just one unusual aspect of his particular driving technique and style; one that sets him apart from many others. Hamilton has often said that he knew early on in his career that it wouldn’t be enough to be simply a driver. If he wanted to win titles, he felt he had to be an engineer or one of his pits staffers. He needed to know everything there was to know in terms of technical and mechanical expertise. That way, he would have an edge on others in the car as it would provide the answers to what might be needed in any situation as he hurtled around the track at 200mph.

In this chapter, we will focus on the technique and styles favoured by Hamilton, Norris and Russell, and how they converge, or diverge from each other.

George has readily admitted that watching Lewis as a teammate, and seeing how he handled and got the best out of the Mercedes, was crucial to his own development. He learned from the master, and readily admitted it. ‘From my experience, I can say that I learned more in my first year alongside Lewis than in the three years at Williams.’ As well as showing obvious respect, it highlights George’s humility in his willingness to listen and heed advice.

After their first season together, in 2022, George elaborated further on the valuable information and tips Lewis had imparted. ‘I feel very fortunate to be in this team, a teammate of Lewis, learning a huge amount and being pushed to my limits,’ he told The High Performance Podcast. ‘It’s not easy being teammates with somebody as fast and great as he is.’

‘There have been a huge amount of late nights throughout this season, a lot of tension at times between drivers, teams, designers with regards to are we on the right track – do we need to be doing something different, more drastic? These were very difficult conversations, but we come away from them growing closer together.

‘Lewis is an incredibly unique character. He’s incredibly inspiring. He does things so differently to so many other people yet has still had so much success along the way.’

Lando Norris is also quick to acknowledge a debt to Hamilton in terms of watching and analysing his driving – and learning from it. He said Lewis had ‘definitely’ set the standard on the track and it was one he was keen to learn and benefit from. ‘When I started watching F1, I was supporting Lewis Hamilton. Lewis was the guy at McLaren, and he was kind of a reason why I got into F1 in the first place.

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