European GP - Thursday press conference
Lewis, what have you been up to since the last race?Lewis HAMILTON: Not too much really. Nothing particularly fancy. I spent some time with my family and then I spent the rest of my time in Los Angeles with my girlfriend, so just chilling at home.
On the beach in LA?
LH: I did go to the beach on two days in LA but the water is freezing, so I didn’t go in the water. And otherwise I did a bit of training and just good food.
But you haven’t put on any weight?
LH: No, no way.
Lewis, after winning in Hungary how was that feeling for you?
LH: It was a great feeling. It was fantastic going back to the factory and seeing all my team in the red tops and being greeted by everyone and just to see the smiles on all their faces after clearly a very tough season so far. It was a great way to start everyone’s holiday as well. It was quite a good period for everyone to see everyone able to relax and go back and spend some time with their families. I think it was a perfect weekend to begin that.
Give us some idea what it has taken for the team and yourself to get to that stage, to get back on top again?
LH: Well, I think before the beginning of the season, before the first race we were a good two-and-a-half, almost three seconds off the pace. For the first race we brought a huge amount of updates to the car. The team were pushing way beyond our means and way beyond the actual power that we had as individuals. Everyone was working way overtime and whilst we were making those changes to catch up, everyone was making a step forward, so perhaps you did not see the impact it had but in the car we felt it bit by bit get better. Clearly at the last two races we had made a much, much bigger step to be able to keep up with the other guys. That is really just due to the team never giving up and never thinking for a second I am going to leave that aside, I am going to leave it for another day. No-one lost the determination. Everyone just kept pushing and even I have been back to the factory and seen everyone’s determination and enthusiasm and it had an impact on me. It is just a family environment with us all pushing together and working to achieve our goals.
And the chances of you staying on top now?
LH: I hope so. We are going to do the best job we can. Again we just have to take it race by race. We know we have got a lot of very competitive teams around us who will continue to improve during the season but it is just a great feeling for us to know that we have that competitiveness back in the car.
A question for all the drivers except Luca: a question about Michael Schumacher. Do you believe it’s a shame Michael can’t race in Valencia, and are you curious, like many people, what he could have done in the race after two years off?
JB: I’m sure everyone was very excited about Michael Schumacher racing again. He’s achieved more in the sport than anyone and having someone who’s achieved as much as he has back in the sport is for sure very good for the sport, and also another World Champion. For him, I’m sure he’s really, really disappointed that he couldn’t be here as well but he can’t race, so we move on and I think we have a very competitive field anyway without Michael. But I think the most disappointed man, forgetting all of us, has got to be Michael himself. He’s had his neck injury and he’s not able to be on the grid but as I said, life goes on and we’ve got a couple of World Champions on the grid at the moment – well, three World Champions on the grid at the moment – and it’s a pretty competitive field.
FA: Same.
Jaime, would you like to have raced against Michael Schumacher?
JA: Yeah, I think that it was unbelievable for me, a great opportunity especially because I have just upgraded to Formula One and I think Michael has always been a reference for young drivers and especially for me. I think it was really good, but now, as Jenson said, the situation is like this and we accept it and we race and we have fun all the same.
LH: These guys have commented quite well, I think. He’s a racing legend and it would have been a real privilege and an honour for all of us to have competed against him. Obviously you guys have, I haven’t, but to see him back, I think, would have been great for the sport and I think all we can do is wish him well, wish him a strong recovery and look forward to us racing together.
LB: If I can say something as well, because I spent a lot of time with him, I can let you understand that he was really pushing very hard. He was training a lot, he spent a lot of time (doing that) because he wanted to come back. He did everything, he tried everything, he lost three kilos in seven days, he was really pushing one hundred percent because it was sort of his dream to come back and drive in Formula One again. You have to keep in mind that he was missing something; he really tried everything but it was not possible because of the neck problem.
