The key to Lewis Hamilton’s record-breaking successes over the years has been not to follow his rivals, but instead, to find out what works for him and do things his own way. One of those things includes rarely participating in track walks, something most of his rivals do to get a better understanding of the characteristics and layout of a circuit before every race weekend.
This practice started before the era of simulators and other technology that allowed them to learn about the track from indoors, which means that drivers don’t really need to do it anymore. Drivers can simply practice on detailed virtual circuits any time they want.
This is something a YouTuber going by the name Not Applicable pointed out in a recent video. “Walking around the track does seem quite old-fashioned,” he said. “Drivers like Lewis Hamilton don’t really see the point, often preferring to do an extra lap in free practice, rather than walking around the track on a Thursday.”
Hamilton himself revealed in an interview in 2021 that he used to do track walks much more often when he was younger but rarely sees the point of doing them any longer. “I used to walk the track when I was younger,” said the Briton in an interview with Formula 1’s official website. “But what I’ve discovered is that for me, it was a pointless exercise“.
Unsurprisingly, Hamilton hasn’t missed out on much nor did this ever affect his career. Despite not being someone who goes out for track walks that often, Hamilton became F1’s most successful driver ever, smashing records year after year.
The seven-time World Champion is also not a fan of the over-integration of tech into his F1 preparations, as he revealed in the same interview from 2021.
Hamilton hardly uses a simulator
Simulators were meant to replace track walks, but Hamilton doesn’t engage much in that either. In the interview with Formula 1’s official website, he revealed how he does just 20 laps of simulator work in a single season—probably hundreds short of what Max Verstappen, who loves the virtual world of racing, completes.
“I have no interest in the simulator,” the now 40-year-old had said. Hamilton made his F1 debut back in 2007, when simulators were not really a thing which is likely why he doesn’t think it aids him much ahead of a race.
Most of the others on the grid are from a newer generation and have grown up putting in multiple virtual laps to better their real-time performances. During Hamilton’s starting era, however, practice mostly came through real-life testing, which is what he would still prefer.
Perhaps the only other driver on the grid who would understand how he feels would be Fernando Alonso, who is 43 years old. But he too takes part in grid walks.
