The shorter 2020 Formula 1 season will mean everything – from how you perform to how you recover after each race – will be “magnified” and therefore every moment will count, according to Lewis Hamilton.
The Mercedes driver is hunting his seventh World Championship, which would put him on the same level as Michael Schumacher’s record number of titles.
However the ’20 season will be unlike any other, with this weekend’s Austrian Grand Prix the first race in over seven months and at present the calendar consists of just eight rounds, two of which are double-header events.
Whilst the calendar is set to expand to 15 or more races, they are set to take place across a shorter than normal timeframe, which will see very few free weekends.
Hamilton believes remaining consistent across a normal calendar is “one of the hardest challenges”, and that will only be magnified this year, as will every aspect of a drivers life.
“One of the hardest challenges is staying consistent,” Hamilton said in a sponsor video for Petronas. “Normally you have the 20 to 22 races – that is a long time and generally you have a lot more gaps, so through experience you have time to take a breather and then get back at it.
“This year will be different because we’re going to be attacking a lot more focussed small group of races. So a lot more crucial will be the performance at each of those races, being healthy, putting it up every single lap.
“Every moment is going to count even more. It’s going to be magnified. Being diligent in terms of the process of how much you travel, where you’re staying, how much sleep you’re getting, the diet you’re having, how much energy you let out, and how you recover. All these different things. And the process you go through getting your mind and team into the right space over the weekend – it’s going to be a tough one.”
Meanwhile Hamilton has another challenge to tackle this year after setting up his own initiative to increase diversity across motorsport, which he admits will probably be the bigger of his two challenges.
“It’s a really weird time in the world and what the biggest challenge, in my mind, it’s not about the championship. Today we have seen an opportunity for change.
“My race is to be supporting that, my race is in line with inclusivity and diversity, pushing for that. That’s what I’m racing for.
“All of you out there who may feel like you don’t have a voice, I’m going to shine my light and make as big a noise as possible. The only way I can do that is by being in it, changing it from within – I’m talking about my industry, I’m talking about the motoring industry and to try and create a ripple effect that encourages other businesses globally – that’s the core of my goal.”
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