Hamilton: “I’m excited and can’t wait to test”

4 January, 2010

Jan.4 (YF1) Lewis Hamilton was born and bred to be a McLaren Mercedes Formula 1 driver. The team’s Hq in Woking has been his second home for over a decade. In 2010 he welcomes a new team mate, fellow Briton and 2009 World Champion, Jenson Button to the team. The previous Worold Champion who joined the team, Fernando Alonso, got a major roasting by Hamilton and left the team with tail firmly between his legs.

One of the most interesting aspects, of what promises to be a mouth watering season in Formula 1 ahead, is how effective and smooth the Hamilton/Button partnership will be. The 2008 World Champion talks about the year ahead.

How have you been preparing for the 2010 season?
“I’ve been mainly training and trying to keep fit. At the end of the 2009 season, I promised myself that I would aim to be 100 per cent fit and focused on the new year, so I’ve been working hard. When I’m not training, I’ve just been at home in Geneva, preparing for Christmas and the new year.”

Are you looking forward to trying the new car for the first time?
“Yes, I’m excited and can’t wait to see it and test it. Hopefully, it’s going to be great for our team next year. I’ll be working closely with my engineers and the team to make sure we all hit the ground running with the new car. You can never take competitiveness for granted in Formula 1 – we saw that last year – so our common goal has to be to make MP4-25 a winning proposition as quickly as possible. Only once we’ve achieved that can we start looking at winning races and then, eventually, the world championship.”

Have you had much of a chance to speak to Jenson yet?
“Not yet, unfortunately. Our paths haven’t really crossed since he was announced at Vodafone McLaren Mercedes back in November. We’ve both been to MTC for our seat fittings – but they were on different days. The first time we’ll start working together is later this month, when we’ll both be at Woking together, then we’ll have the launch and the first test. We’ll be sharing the pre-season testing equally, and it will be important to keep a crossover of information between us to make sure we are both pulling in the right direction.”

Related posts:

1. Looking back on a decade of F1 Champions
2. Supreme Lewis Hamilton takes Abu Dhabi pole
3. Practice 1: Hamilton strikes first on new track
4. Hamilton excited to race Suzuka for first time
5. Qualifying: Hamilton steals pole from Sutil