Hamilton's Complaining On Team Radio During Races Explained By Mercedes Development Driver

Wednesday, 01 November 2023 at 11:00

Updated at Wednesday, 01 November 2023 at 11:03

hamilton lewis mercedes steveetherington4

Mercedes F1 development driver Esteban Gutierrez explained why Lewis Hamilton often complains on the radio during races.

Lewis Hamilton is famous as one of the best drivers on the F1 grid. One of his competitive advantages is the management of tires, engine temperature, and other variables that have an influence on his car's performance.

On the other hand, F1 fans watching races from home can very often see the seven-time World Champion complaining about the life of his tires, the strategy, and other things.

A great example is the most recent race in Mexico City when Hamilton went on the medium compound tires after the race restart with an objective to make them last 35 laps.

The 38-year-old came multiple times on the radio saying it was going to be really hard to make it on the medium compound until the end of the race.

Read also

Hamilton Calls For 'Real Big Chnages' To Mercedes Car For 2024 Season

What happened is Hamilton not only made it to the end on his tires, but he also achieved the fastest lap of the race in his last lap. Mercedes development driver Esteban Gutierrez explained in the F1 Nation podcast.

"Lewis is very strong in that kind of situation. I think he says some things to let it out of his system, it’s not necessarily meaning that’s what he believes, he’s just getting that out of his system."

Gutierrez explained the seven-time World Champion has kind of a "psychological process" to get negative thoughts out of his system, which then allows him to focus and maximize the situation.

"If I was in this position, it’s like a psychological process to try to increase or maximize your situation. And he’s done that a couple of times in his career where sometimes he makes an indication and then he does totally the opposite."

Gutierrez also mentioned the Mexico City Grand Prix was an example of one of those situations where Hamilton first complained but then achieved the best possible result for his team.

"And he’s like mega and doing the fastest laps and incredible stints and I think today was a good example of that. His tire management is great. Temperature management, engine temperature management, all of those variables. Lewis is thinking on every detail and and he’s really good at that."