Slipping into damp-eyed reveries is not a popular habit among those who drive 200mph racing cars for a living but for Lewis Hamilton the indulgence propelled him towards greatness.
Hamilton won his second Formula One world championship in Abu Dhabi on Sunday but the season pivoted on the race at Spa in August, when Nico Rosberg crashed into him and effectively ended his race.
“I remember sitting on my balcony in Monaco [after the race in Belgium], with the most incredible view, and thinking of growing up,” he said on Monday. “I remembered my view from my house in Stevenage, across to the hostel, and to the view that I had now, of the sea.
“I remember thinking about my new approach and how I would attack it. I went for a long run and the following days I really thought about my approach to the next race, each session, how I would tweak it a little bit, and the results came.” Hamilton won the next five races to demoralise Rosberg and take a grip on the F1 title. After the Belgian Grand Prix, Hamilton felt “this means war. I’m going to turn that negative bomb into a positive”.
On the day after his great triumph at the Yas Marina Circuit, where he won for the 11th time this season, he was again enjoying the view, this time from the Mercedes hotel, a short drive from the track. And once again the attractive aspect, beside the pool and looking towards the busy golf course inspired memories. Again, it carried himself back to his boyhood council home in Stevenage, and owning his first go-kart.
“I remember the day looking in the letter box when I arrived at my dad’s from my mum’s [his parents were separated] for Christmas, and seeing my dad wasn’t in. I looked through to see if anyone was there and saw the Christmas present on the table, all wrapped up. It was my first go-kart. So I left. And I knew I had it. Then, when I arrived, I had to pretend like I didn’t know it was there. I pretty much walked in backwards and went upstairs, as if I hadn’t seen it.
“I remember the times when we had the red and white flask. I still have that chicken noodle soup, Knorr. It’s the best.”
Now, at 29, Hamilton is worth almost £70m, a double world champion who could dominate F1 for some time to come.
Had he promised himself a treat after triumphing through a long and difficult year? “No, the world championship is what I’m treating myself to,” he said.
How would he feel if he had a dud car – like Rosberg on Sunday – and it had all gone wrong? “I don’t think about it because I don’t need to,” he said. “But I know how difficult it would have been to have fallen away from him, driving around with an underpowered car.
“I know how painful that is. It’s been a long year. He put a lot in and to come out No2 is tough but he took it on the chin. I’m sure none of you would have thought we would have hugged and come out as respectful as we did.”
He is looking forward to some downtime. “I can’t wait for this winter. I’m going to enjoy it like I enjoy all my winters, with family and the snow, with my dogs [in Colorado], then getting back to Monaco and seeing my cars and driving up the street, my motorbikes. It’s going to be the greatest winter.”
Only then, Hamilton feels, will he understand the size of his achievement. “It hasn’t sunk in yet but it was definitely an incredible feeling to wake up this morning with all the different people who have been involved in my career over 21 years. The sun is shining and I feel really blessed.
“I had a nice dinner with my family and reminisced over all the different things we had experienced. I feel fresh, I only had one drink. I don’t drink champagne. I had a watermelon juice at dinner, which is my favourite.At the party, there was some kind of cognac thing. I generally drink cognac but it didn’t taste very nice. I had a couple of sips. I don’t really drink, so if I’d had any more it would have taken days to recover. When I get home I’ll be with friends and family and I can go all out if I want to.”
