There are records of no little import within Lewis Hamilton’s reach at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix but ticking boxes in Baku appears far from his mind. Now 32 and in his 11th season in Formula One, the three-times world champion still has his sights set on the long game. A gripping fight with Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel for the title has only heightened the joy he is taking from racing, so much so he believes his best still lies ahead.
Pole on Saturday in Baku will put the British driver one ahead of Ayrton Senna’s 65 and too much should not be read into the fact he finished fifth in first practice and 10th in second on a track at which everyone but Red Bull struggled. Hamilton did not get to set a lap on the quickest super-soft tyre after a Jolyon Palmer crash resulted in delays.
A win on Sunday would give Hamilton victories at every circuit on the 2017 calendar to sit alongside his achievement of the greatest number of wins at different tracks, currently 24.
He has never targeted such goals, taking pleasure only in their aftermath, an attitude epitomised in Baku, when he said: “I’ll always be a racing driver at heart.” This much has long been clear but now revitalised in his fight with Vettel after a rancorous battle with his former team-mate Nico Rosberg, his heart is telling him race on.
“I’m 32 and I feel like I’m at a pivot point towards the older side,” he said. “I don’t feel like I’m one of the older ones, I still feel like I’m in the prime or even on the verge of my prime. It’s the pivot point, so the interesting thing is how long I can make the prime last.”
It has already been some journey. Sunday will be his 196th Formula One start, having taken his first title for McLaren in 2008 and the two for Mercedes in 2014 and 2015. Hamilton’s very public lifestyle outside the sport has prompted debate that he might be calling it a day. He admitted there were other goals he wanted to pursue but insisted the desire for more in F1 was still strong.
“I could easily do another three-year contract if I wanted to,” he said. “I reckon I could go another one after that but at least one more, easy.” His deal with Mercedes concludes at the end of 2018 and while the team will be anxious to persuade him to stay, his strong sense of ambition suggests they will not have to work too hard.
“When I think about Juan Manuel Fangio, five championships sounds pretty good,” he said. “But then Vettel’s only one away from five so if I get five he could easily equal that and then you’ve got to get six. People ask me what’s motivating you and I still want more. I feel like I have more potential and it’s a constant journey to discover what that potential is. There’s no real limit to what we can achieve, it’s a state of mind.”
He has the chance at Baku to surpass Senna as part of his attempt to better the Brazilian’s three world titles but the optimism that followed a dominant win in Canada looks to have been dented. Having struggled with set-up and tyre temperatures this season, not least at Monaco – a street circuit that shares some characteristics with Baku – Mercedes were confident they had the problem solved but putting tyres look to have been a problem in Azerbaijan. With everyone struggling for grip on a green track and hard rubber, as in Monaco, Hamilton’s team-mate Valtteri Bottas managed second in the afternoon. The team’s executive director, Toto Wolff, admitted there was work to be done.
“It is lacking grip because it is a street circuit and having the tyres in the right window so they can generate grip – it all needs to come together,” he said. “It seems three or four teams are competitive so it is important to be in the front in qualifying.”
Paul Hembery, the motorsport director at Pirelli, believed the advance Mercedes made at the last race was significant but admitted that Baku might prove a further challenge. “It appeared Mercedes had understood going to Canada what was troubling them at Monaco,” he said. “They looked at every element and that was clear in a dramatic step up in performance. We did not envisage an issue for them at Silverstone or Spa – it was always going to be the slower, street circuits.”
The latter concern, Hamilton confirmed, was correct. “These tyres don’t seem to be working well at all here,” he said. “Getting them to switch on, even at 50 degrees, it is very strange they won’t work. I think we are still in the fight for pole but it is difficult.”
Max Verstappen was quickest in the two sessions, with the Red Bull well hooked-up for both their drivers and the battle at the front has every sign of being a three-team fight in qualifying at least, with Force India and Williams also looking strong.
Fernando Alonso, who is already due to start Sunday’s race from the back of the grid following a series of engine penalties, launched his headrest out of his McLaren as he ground to a halt when his engine died with 30 minutes of the second session remaining.
