Lewis Hamilton is not a fan of trackwalks and will never go around a track again: Only at selected races will he be on a scooter
The trackwalk is part of the routine for many Formula 1 drivers before a race weekend. They explore the track to find out about special features and novelties. One driver who is notoriously reluctant to do so is Lewis Hamilton, who has dispensed with it completely: “I have no intention of ever doing a trackwalk again,” he says before the race in Qatar.
But that doesn’t mean he won’t take a look at the track with his own eyes from time to time: “Every now and then I ride around the track on my scooter,” he says. But he will only do that at selected tracks – like in Qatar.
Because Hamilton has been racing in Formula 1 since 2007 and therefore knows most of the tracks very well. But the premier class has only been to Qatar once – two years ago. Since then, a lot has changed at the track, which is why Hamilton swings on his scooter here.
“Some tracks it’s not necessary and some tracks, like this weekend, it would be good to see if you can still learn something,” he says. “For example, they changed the kerbs and it’s not enough to see the pictures. We drove in the simulator, but it’s not the real track. That’s why I will go and check.”
One thing that is likely to be noticeable during a trackwalk, for example, is bumps, which are quite damaging to the Mercedes because it still has problems with bouncing from time to time – as it did in Japan.
Hamilton doesn’t expect any problems in this respect in Qatar: “It’s a pretty flat track. So I hope we won’t have it,” he says. “But it’s definitely possible, with this car you never know.”
“Bumps usually make it worse. And here there are usually not so many bumps. So hopefully it should be a smoother weekend.”
At the very least, he says he is more comfortable with his preparation for a weekend this year than he was in 2022, with simulator work proving much easier this season than with the W13.
“If you start with the right set-up and it works perfectly and you build confidence over the course of the weekend, it makes things a lot easier,” Hamilton says. “Whereas if you have to make a lot of changes then you have to do all these calculations and that makes it difficult.”
“Last year I tried everything on the car and it bounced up and down. This year that was much less the case. “