“Why is he the only driver that does it?”– Lewis Hamilton does a trick that allows him better launch against other drivers

Lewis Hamilton uses a trick that allows him to have a better launch ahead of an F1 Grand Prix race, but he is the only driver to do it.

Lewis Hamilton is statistically the most successful driver in the history of F1. He has dominated the sport in the turbo-hybrid era with the most superior engine on the grid.

To add to his supremacy, a Reddit fan pointed out that Hamilton puts his hand on the upper-left side of his steering wheel. The user claimed that it allows the seven-time world champion to launch better.

Though, the post owner didn’t know how it works. Until another Reddit user mentioned Nico Rosberg explaining a similar thing in one of the Q&A sessions.

“Nico Rosberg actually talked about this in one of his track guides. I forget exactly which one, but I believe it’s one of Monoco or Bahrain during the Q&A session,” said u/Hiachi.

“But he simply said that Lewis does it because he feels like he gets better control of the clutch paddles while he slowly releases it during the launch.”

Moreover, in 2017, it was reported that Mercedes had used a different clutch approach in comparison to the other teams. The Mercedes concept consists of two long holes that the drivers will slot their fingers into for the starts.

This solution opens the way for a much larger clutch paddle, which should, in theory, allow for a better feel of the clutch bite point. The hope is that this will manifest itself in better getaways for the drivers.

Also read: Mercedes superstar wants FIA to fix things before committing to 2022 F1 season

Other drivers also think Lewis Hamilton does it for better control at the clutch

Former Renault driver Jolyon Palmer on F1’s Youtube channel talked about the same thing while discussing Hamilton’s run-off during the Azerbaijan GP 2021.

Also, read: Remember when Tony Stewart drove for McLaren in Formula 1 and Lewis Hamilton joined NASCAR?

About the author

Tanish Chachra

Tanish Chachra is the Motorsport editor at The SportsRush. He saw his first race when F1 visited India in 2011, and since then, his romance with the sport has been seasonal until he took up this role in 2020. Reigniting F1's coverage on this site, Tanish has fallen in love with the sport all over again. He loves Kimi Raikkonen and sees a future world champion in Oscar Piastri. Away from us, he loves to snuggle inside his books.

Read More