With a record 104 pole positions, Lewis Hamilton is the driver to start most F1 races from the front. However, he is not necessarily a fan of leading a race and having all his opponents behind him. Despite the clean air being a luxury in today’s F1 era, he would rather catch dirty air from the back of the car ahead of him.
Such is his disdain for leading a race, that he does not even consider it racing. All that is because he finds it “boring”. With a car ahead, there is an element of building up, picking your chance, and finally mounting an attack when everything plays out in your favor. That excites Hamilton. Unlike driving in the front where you have to imagine having a car ahead and chasing it keep yourself entertained or motivated to improve lap times.
Speaking on the Performance People podcast with Georgie Ainslie, Hamilton revealed, “It’s really boring compared to fighting from the back and racing because it’s not racing. You are fighting a time gap behind you, you have to psych yourself into thinking that you’re fighting some car ahead.”
“You have to be chasing something. But it’s different when you have a car or cars ahead of you, and there’s a track that you can overtake on like Austin or Silverstone, for example.”, he added.
Discovering different racing lines, taking tire degradation and crosswinds into consideration while chasing a car brings an extra element of thrill for the seven-time champion. To then mount an attack and overtake, “that’s the most rewarding experience as a driver” for Hamilton.
This experience could also be one of the reasons why he rates his 2021 Brazilian GP win so highly. As a penalty for a DRS infringement and five places more for an engine change, Hamilton started the sprint race from the back of the grid. He finished P5 in the sprint and emerged victorious in the Grand Prix later on Sunday after starting from P10.
