Lewis Hamilton - Lewis Hamilton - My Story

The test at Silverstone – only a year before I flew to Japan and China for the two Grands Prix that lifted me within reach of the title and then dashed my hopes – was the best week of my life at the time. I enjoyed it so much. I felt the pressure, because it was my first test, but it was so cool. I worked my way through it. The thing that really struck me, after GP2, was the downforce in the high-speed corners. I was like, ‘Wow, this is Formula One! I want this!’ And then I went to Jerez to test again, and gradually, after not such a fast start, I was into it and doing the laps. I just loved that testing and it went well and, looking back now, I have only good memories.

It seems so long ago. So, too, does the day I was confirmed as Fernando’s team-mate, as a race driver in the team, and all the other testing. And the launch in Valencia on 15 January earlier in the year, when we did all the razzmatazz and had those huge crowds and did the ‘doughnuts’ in the streets…So much has happened since – and luckily for me, nearly all of it has been good. One of the few bad days came when I had a big accident testing the new MP4-22 at Valencia in January before the season. Fortunately for me I was unhurt, but the car was quite badly damaged and it set us back in our test programme. That accident was a shaker for me, a reminder of what these cars can do and it was a big part of my early learning experience with the team.

In fact I have learned something every day in this last year. I am so competitive that I always want to achieve more and more. It is a positive force for me. I want to win. You have to be realistic and remember this was my first season and that it was something special for me. I was bound to make some mistakes. I started out just hoping to learn a lot, to challenge Fernando and to prove I was worth my seat in the team. The level of expectation was a measure of how far I had gone in that space of time.

After Brazil, I was asked if there was anything different I would do for next season given my experiences this year. A lot of things, really. Now after one season in Formula One, I have the experience to know how to plan my year differently so I can be more structured and have more time for myself and for my family. Next year I will know the circuits, apart from the new ones – and they are street circuits so I love them anyway. It is not so much about doing things differently but doing them better. I want to be fitter, work harder and be a better driver all round. I know all of this is not something that can be achieved in one year, as it takes time to evolve – especially if you are striving to become the best in the world. My dream is still there and it is still in front of me. So in one way, maybe it is a good thing that I have not been crowned number one this year, because there is a long time to come in my life and I am sure I will have a lot more opportunities.

I find it easy to overcome disappointments and negativity. Life goes on and every new day is a new positive. Sometimes, you just have to say to yourself, ‘Get on with it.’ I am my own biggest critic and often want to say, ‘Lewis, kick it!’ I push myself. It is the same for us all in the team and we work for each other, helping one another as much as we can. A racing team is not just about the person who is driving the car. It is much, much bigger than that. I have been very lucky this year to have learned a lot from the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes team. I have gained so much from driving and handling the car, set-up, tyre selection, strategy and the whole range of factors that can make a driver successful.

I have also learned a lot about the politics of Formula One…

‘Dad is my biggest supporter, and a fantastic father, without whom I may not have even discovered I had any talent for racing.’

TO BE A FORMULA ONE RACING DRIVER you need to be extremely fit and prepared – both physically and mentally for the whole challenge. It is far more exhausting than you can ever imagine if you have never raced in a car. And it is not easy. Sometimes, if you are not feeling right, if you do not have the right energy levels, it can be impossible. It is important to find your own way, then keep your mind clear and maintain the right level of motivation.

Just the ordinary things – like travelling all the time; packing bags, grabbing them and taking them with you; going to functions, meeting people; the crowds, the heavy schedule – all take their toll on your energy and strength after a while. So it is important to stay calm when you can and not to waste energy.

I have a special source of extra motivation. For me, even when I am feeling pretty stretched, rushing around in the middle of a Formula One weekend and surrounded by people who want a bit of my time – and with what feels like a thousand things to do – I only have to think of one person to keep me feeling motivated and to put a smile on my face: my brother Nicolas. I remember Linda, my step-mum, being pregnant with Nic. I remember him being born and that I would just go and sit next to him and watch him. I had prayed to have a brother and was so happy when he came into the world. It really meant a lot to me, in my childhood, to have a brother. And it still does.

Nic was born two months early and it was a long time after his birth – I think nearly eighteen months – before he was diagnosed with cerebral palsy. He was still the same Nic to us and we loved him whatever. Nic has trouble walking, and this affects his whole body to a point, but he never complains. He always has a smile on his face whatever the situation.

I remember when Nic was four he had to have an operation on his legs to extend the tendons so as to increase his mobility. The operation was a major one and very distressing. Nic had to have cuts in his groin, behind his knees, and in his ankles. He was in plaster for about eight weeks. I was only eleven and heavily into my karting by then, going to race tracks at weekends and having a great time. We always went to every race as a family – Linda, Nic, my dad and me. Nic was let out of hospital after about a week and they gave him this little wheelchair. As soon as he was released, Nic was back on the racing circuit with us, his legs stretched out straight in front of him and plastered up to the groin. The whole operation period was a very traumatic time for us all, in particular Nic, who, when the time came to take off his plaster casts, thought the doctors were going to cut his legs off. I remember he cried his eyes out but it wasn’t long before that smile came back to his face. That smile – it is infectious and inspirational. It taught me a lot about life. Nic has always been my number one fan and I am his.

I just hope that by writing about him, he doesn’t get too big-headed because, if he does, I will have to make sure he soon forgets it! He is such a character, so grounded too, and he is always cheerful and happy. He has big respect from me and all who know him. Nic is seven years younger than me and because of that, I sometimes feel like I have to teach him things, like my dad did for me. But most of the time, I am learning stuff from him.

Nic is now fifteen and, if anything, we are even closer. I love spending time with him. We enjoy the same sort of things, the same sort of music. As he gets older, it’s good to be able to talk about girls with him! It won’t be long before we can go partying together – and I am dying for the time when he is old enough so we can go out to a club or just do our own thing. That is going to be so cool.

It is rare for me during the season to get a decent period of time at my parents’ home to spend with Nic but we did have a few this year. After the Turkish Grand Prix, for example, and before I had to travel to Italy, I went home to my parents’ house in Hertfordshire. The weather was great, Nic was there and we had fun doing all kinds of things together.