2014 World Drivers’ Champion Lewis Hamilton helped to unveil the 2015 Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS challenger with team-mate Nico Rosberg, and made it known that he was eager to ‘win some more’ this season.
The Briton took the covers off the F1 W06 Hybrid in Spain, and welcomed the return of Formula 1 as pre-season testing began at Jerez. He was happy however to have been able to relax for a time during the off-season.
“The winter break was a good chance to relax,” revealed Hamilton. “I was working right up until mid-December and had been in the factory earlier that day but then had a couple of weeks away skiing before getting straight back into training after Christmas. It’s never great to get back into that routine but it has to be done and my motivation was not lacking in any way, which is a really positive sign.
“You hear about people who achieve a lot but then lose their focus and you wonder; at what point does it fade off? I’m grateful that the fire is still there in me. I think subconsciously the taste of success spurs me on – I like that feeling and I want to feel it again and again.”
Hamilton admits that he found more satisfaction in winning his second World Drivers’ Championship last year battling hard with team-mate Rosberg, and would have rather have done it that way than cantered to an easy victory.
“I’m not going to sit here and say I don’t feel like I’ve won two World Championships – but I’m a racer,” insisted Hamilton. “I’m glad me and Nico had the battle we did last year. I love winning races but it just feels so much better when you have to fight for it. I just want to get back out there, race hard, be the best I can be and hopefully win some more.”
He also knows that the success from last year means very little when it comes to 2015, but he feels that he has the team around him that will give him the best opportunity to continue their strong form this season.
“Just because you’ve had success before, it’s never easy to just carry it on,” continued Hamilton. “We’ve probably made it harder for ourselves with the way things went last year – it isn’t easy to improve on something that was already so strong when the rules haven’t really changed. But we know there are areas we can improve and I know everyone wants to come back even stronger.
I’ve seen the guys at the factory pushing like crazy to put everything together, so it just goes to show that you can’t ever really be comfortable. Hopefully we’re on the right path. It’s not until the end of the last test that you start to get a feel for where the car might be – and even then you don’t know for sure. You can never rule anybody out and we’ll be keeping an eye on the others as always.
“Unfortunately for them we have an amazing team and it will be tough to match the work these guys do – but not impossible. We have to take things one step at a time and hope that at the end of those 20 big steps in the season we’re ahead.”
