Hockenheim (Germany): Lewis Hamilton dug deep into his past Tuesday to explain Sunday’s stunning German Grand Prix victory and came up with a ‘four-poster bed’ as the real reason behind his win.
The four-time Formula One (F1) World Champion had never before won a Grand Prix from lower than sixth on the starting grid but at a wet Hockenheim track, he steered his silver Mercedes from 14th to first. That was only the 12th time that a driver had started that low and won.
The achievement left the new championship leader struggling to contain his emotion. “It’s very reminiscent of how I started out,” he explained to reporters at Hockenheim, whose present layout has been likened to a glorified go-kart track by those who miss the bygone blast through the forest.
“The kart that I had was… really, really old. My dad spent the little bit of money he could to shave it down and re-spray it and made it as brand-new as it could be.
“He would call it ‘the four-poster bed’. I would have to start at the back and wiggle my way through the more experienced and faster karts. And that’s where I learned to do it. That’s what I was best at doing,” added the man while bidding adieu to the venue here.
Hamilton is an ace in the wet, just as Michael Schumacher was before him, but Sunday he was master of everything thrown at him.
Already up to fifth with 14 laps gone, picking off almost a car a lap, Hamilton proceeded to take great chunks of time out of his rivals as the rain fell and the tyre strategy played to his advantage.
The Briton also had the presence of mind to follow his instincts rather than listen to the panicked messages from the pitwall that almost led him to pit and risk undoing all his good work in the blink of an eye. On such moments are championships won and lost and Hamilton, now 17 points clear of Vettel, made the difference.
Hamilton and Vettel have four wins apiece, one retirement each and the German ahead 5-4 on pole positions. It is debatable which of the two has the faster car and small margins are proving crucial.
As Sunday showed, anything can happen and there is everything left to play for.