Hamilton’s wary of Mercedes duo
LEWIS HAMILTON is being supported in Montreal by a long-time friend – his ‘eyes and ears’ to guard against what he sees as the foreign hierarchy at Mercedes.
It can be revealed that Marc Hynes (38), a touring car driver from Guildford, is a key adviser to the world champion, having been signed up to ‘Project 44’, Hamilton’s business enterprise.
The Mail on Sunday understands that Hamilton has expressed his doubts about the independence of Mercedes F1 chairman Niki Lauda and team principal Toto Wolff, both of whom are German-speaking like his team-mate Nico Rosberg, and that he has described them in derogatory terms.
Hamilton (31) travels around the world with his social media adviser, Daniel Forrest, a Jamaican-born, Toronto-based music producer known as ‘Spinz Beats’. And Hynes, a former British Formula Three champion, is also accompanying the world champion to a number of races. Mercedes spokesman Bradley Lord confirmed: ‘Marc is in Montreal.’
It is understood that Hynes’s family have been friends with the Hamiltons for many years.
One paddock insider said: ‘Lewis has expressed his misgivings about Lauda and Wolff. You can call it paranoia, but he has not been convinced that they are on his side.’
Rosberg, a multi-lingual German from Monaco, is thought to be the natural favourite among some figures within Mercedes.
While Hamilton’s off-track antics continue to take centre stage, not least because he publishes every last detail on social media, he remained the master of Montreal by taking his fifth pole on Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. It was business as usual.
The Mercedes man underlined his unforgettable arrival in Formula One here in 2007 with his first victory on this track. And he has added three more wins in Canada since then, this being the strip of tarmac he has dominated as few others have ever done.
Only Michael Schumacher has outdone the Brit here, with seven wins. Beating that mark is back in Hamilton’s sights after he took pole from Rosberg by six hundredths of a second. Sebastian Vettel, of Ferrari, was third quickest.
‘To be honest, it doesn’t matter how far you are ahead, as long as you are ahead,’ said Hamilton. ‘Of course, in practice there was a bigger gap and today I did not have the pace that I had yesterday but it was enough.
‘It was great to see how close we all were. That is great for the fans. It was an amazing turnout for a Saturday, so I am glad it stayed dry. It is going to be interesting tomorrow, but it is the best place to start, that’s for sure.
‘Ferrari have obvio usly picked up the pace with their upgrades on their car. We are excited to have the race with them.’
It was Hamilton’s 53rd pole, as he looks to build on his win in Monaco a fortnight ago and close the 24-point gap to Rosberg.