Friday 11th July 2014

Lewis Hamilton interview: Time For Tea?

Mercedes F1 goes to Twitter for questions, Lewis comes back with some intriguing answers

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Just four points behind teammate Nico Rosberg, there's a real possibility of Lewis Hamilton claiming his second world championship in 2014. He will surely be spurred on by a fantastic British GP win.

So going off the back of that Silverstone performance, Mercedes asked Twitter to #AskLewis and the result is this video. Of course the questions have been chosen in advance (so there's nothing about Nicole Scherzinger, for example, or Mr Rosberg) but that's not to say it's without interest. Lewis talks about how remote control cars got him into karting, his love for the Macau circuit and why he prefers an early night to wild parties.

We'll let the man himself tell all though, and it's really worth sparing a few minutes to see it. Lewis has never proved universally popular but here he comes across as insightful, engaging and affable. Oh, and Suzi Perry conducts the interview. Watching it now?

See the video here.

 

[Pic: LAT]

[mdianuk]

pistonheads said:

Oh, and Suzi Perry conducts the interview

...and there is a reason NOT to watch it. Can't stand her, she is a terrible presenter, can barely get a sentence out without fumbling around.

[Greg_D]

that was a nice interview, why can't they do that on the F1 coverage as opposed to the usual drivel "what do you think of your chances today" "is nico getting under your skin yet" yadda yadda yadda

[StottyEvo]

I liked the first question and answer the most.

Its interesting to see he was naturally good at controlling a car and it hasn't just been taught.

[blade7]

mdianuk said:

...and there is a reason NOT to watch it. Can't stand her, she is a terrible presenter, can barely get a sentence out without fumbling around.

Ditto, can't stand her either.

[Jasandjules]

StottyEvo said:

Its interesting to see he was naturally good at controlling a car and it hasn't just been taught.

I think frankly you can be taught much at driving, BUT how to catch it or drive it like F1 drivers, nope.

Always think of the test story about him when half a dozen drivers reported the car was awful with understeer and so on and posted average laps. Lewis then posts faster laps and gets out and says the car was fine..........

[anonymous-user]

I'm not sure where the 'never proved universally popular' comes from, although I don't religiously follow F1.

I've always thought he came across pretty well. He seems like a nice guy.

[blade7]

He comes across as being a good guy winning or losing, some don't.

[supertouring]

blade7 said:

He comes across as being a good guy winning or losing, some don't.

Watch the end of this years Monaco race to see how much of a bad loser he is.

[thestig84]

supertouring said:

Watch the end of this years Monaco race to see how much of a bad loser he is.

Yes. Dont really see a massive problem with that though. The old show me a good looser and Ill show you a looser comes to mind. Most of the greats in F1 werent great loosers.

[calibrax]

thestig84 said:

Yes. Dont really see a massive problem with that though. The old show me a good looser and Ill show you a looser comes to mind. Most of the greats in F1 werent great loosers.

FFS, how many times can you spell "loser" wrong...!

Edited by calibrax on Friday 11th July 21:19

[Urban Sports]

calibrax said:

thestig84 said:

Yes. Dont really see a massive problem with that though. The old show me a good looser and Ill show you a looser comes to mind. Most of the greats in F1 werent great loosers.

FFS, how any times can you spell "loser" wrong...!

[daveinaravecave]

Lewis regained my interest in F1 after I became bored of it during Schumacher's domination. Whether or not you regard him as being the fastest driver of the field, he's an exciting driver to watch and done very well to match Fred in his first year.

Now, he's probably more than half-way through his F1 career and is high regarded by a lot of people. I like the fact that he's emotional as it just adds to the show that F1 is intended to be.

[TimLambert7]

So many of the interviews the F1 guys do they are under extreme emotional pressure (just won, just lost etc.) and I for one know in those situations I'd act a bit strangely. I guess some of them interview better in those circumstances and perhaps Lewis less so.

To see him just relaxed and chatting shows his real character, I guess. I've always liked him and will continue to do so.

[Urban Sports]

Big fan of LH, seems like a genuine bloke.

[Motorrad]

Don't like his style (facial hair pretensions and ear bling) but I do like his style. He's a racer.

[Crafty_]

Wears his heart on his sleeve, that can be good and bad, but at least you know any reaction/emotion being shown is genuine.

[Rich_W]

blade7 said:

mdianuk said:

...and there is a reason NOT to watch it. Can't stand her, she is a terrible presenter, can barely get a sentence out without fumbling around.

Ditto, can't stand her either.

And another.

WHY did they not just give the lead presenter job to Leigh MacKensie I'll never ever understand! Perry CONSTANTLY looks like she's out of her depth with live TV. Watching her try to fill for an hour (red flag) was cringeworthy!

Saying that though. BBC coverage this year has gone through the floor in terms of quality. Let alone number of races LIVE or when they put highlights on 8 hours after the race! ANd as for that Lewis "skydiving" st!

It's clear the BBC don't care about F1 anymore. Soon Virgin Media will be offering SkyF1HD and I'll be going there. I feel sorry for David, Eddie, Leigh and Tom as they are the only people who seem to care about the coverage!

[blade7]

supertouring said:

blade7 said:

He comes across as being a good guy winning or losing, some don't.

Watch the end of this years Monaco race to see how much of a bad loser he is.

After his team mate pulled that stunt in qualifying ?

[supertouring]

blade7 said:

supertouring said:

blade7 said:

He comes across as being a good guy winning or losing, some don't.

Watch the end of this years Monaco race to see how much of a bad loser he is.

After his team mate pulled that stunt in qualifying ?

You still shake the winners hand. Not sulk like a baby.

[HighwayStar]

supertouring said:

blade7 said:

supertouring said:

blade7 said:

He comes across as being a good guy winning or losing, some don't.

Watch the end of this years Monaco race to see how much of a bad loser he is.

After his team mate pulled that stunt in qualifying ?

You still shake the winners hand. Not sulk like a baby.

Yeah right! Could you see Vettel, Alonso, Schumi, Kimi or best of all Senna shacking Rosberg's hand that day?
The good old British right and proper thing to do, the better man. Fairness. That has a lot answer for but that's another story.
A lot of people are turned by F1 for a number of reasons, one being the drivers being like robots, all corporate and on message. With Lewis you get emotion, you see the real person... He wasn't having it and didn't care who knew. Right or wrong, it's cool in book.
I wonder how many here would've shaken his hand in those circumstances...?