Hamilton buzzing after German win
Monday 25th July 2011
Lewis Hamilton said he is going to try and do his talking on the track after his win at the German Grand Prix.
The McLaren driver scored his second victory of the season at the Nurburgring on Sunday. The first came in China back in April, but inbetween times Hamilton has found himself fighting battles both on the circuit and off.
After two collisions at the Monaco Grand Prix resulted in a penalty, the 2008 world champion made the ill-judged "Maybe it's because I'm black" remark that led to an embarrassing climbdown and letter of apology to FIA president Jean Todt.
Hamilton then collided with team-mate Jenson Button in Canada - an incident that led three-times world champion Niki Lauda to comment that he was "completely mad".
The likes of Emerson Fittipaldi, Sir Stirling Moss, Sir Jackie Stewart and Nigel Mansell also weighed in, with Hamilton's unrest further made clear when he visited Red Bull team principal Christian Horner in Montreal.
Hamilton's aggression - subject of much criticism in recent weeks - was to the fore at the weekend, but this time onlookers were left purring.
He went closer than anyone has all season to matching Red Bull in qualifying before fending off the close attentions of Ferrari's Fernando Alonso and Red Bull's Mark Webber in the race.
"I'm buzzing, really buzzing," Hamilton said in the aftermath of the race. "I cannot express the feeling inside when I win. I cannot imagine anything ever feeling as good.
"It's a mixture of a lot of things, from not expecting to win, to ups and downs, the things said against you, the experiences you go through.
"The win then is a victory for the whole team, and you feel a whole wave of energy wash over you.
"When I cross that line I can feel the whole team jumping, back at the factory jumping, and it's an amazing feeling to be part of something like that."
The criticism did appear to be taking its toll, with Hamilton's demeanour changing as he became a little more withdrawn.
When asked about the negativity over the past two months, he joked: "It's been almost all year hasn't it?"
There was a sense then that the win in Germany was payback, but he said: "My dad always told me when I was growing up to do my talking on the track.
"It's very difficult to stick to that because sometimes you want to let things out off the track, which I have.
"But in this race I did do all my talking on the track, and it felt amazing to be able to put in a performance like that.
"It's not very often you get to do those kind of performances.
"Maybe if the car felt like that all the time then it would be easier to do it more often, but it really felt great."
The win also came as a fillip for McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh, who has been subject to speculation regarding his own future after their recent slump.
"What can I say? Lewis was perfect in qualifying, perfect in the race, and the result was perfect too," said Whitmarsh.
"The team made all the right strategy calls, and the pit crew executed their pit stops faultlessly under extreme pressure.
"When that happens the victory is mighty satisfying.
"I reckon this victory was one of Lewis' very best, a scintillatingly authoritative performance that all too clearly underlines what a fearsomely competitive individual he is."
With the Hungarian Grand Prix up next this weekend, there is the obvious hope the display in Germany was not a one-off.
Hamilton climbed to third place in the drivers' championship after his win, although he still stands 82 behind leader Sebastian Vettel.
"Coming into the weekend I was quite realistic, and I am quite realistic of where we are at the moment," he added.
"But to be honest, I really don't know what to expect at the next race."
Credit: ESPN STAR (www.espnstar.com)
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