Talks up Lewis
Silver Arrow legend reckons Hamilton can emulate him
LEGENDARY driver Sir Stirling Moss – who in 1955 became the last Mercedes-Benz driver to win the British Grand Prix – fancies Lewis Hamilton’s chances of emulating him.
The race at Silverstone takes place on June 30 and the pair met on Friday.
Hamilton said: “Winning the British Grand Prix in 2008 (driving a McLaren) was an incredible moment for me. I’ve been aiming to repeat it every year since and I’d love to achieve what Sir Stirling did and win my second race at Silverstone.
“We have a good car this year so I hope we can do it and it would be great to make the team proud at my home race. Silverstone is so special for the British drivers and the weekend is made by the amazing support from our home fans.
“The atmosphere, the flags flying around the circuit and just seeing everyone supporting us really does lift you. I hope we can put on a good show for them and we’ll be pushing as hard as possible to give them a great weekend.”
Moss said: “I think Lewis has a good chance of winning the British Grand Prix this year.
“It’s not going to be easy and there are a lot of other good drivers out there trying to stop him, but he’s a very fast driver, exciting to watch, and the car he’s got is as good as any of them. He’s in with a good chance.
“Winning the British Grand Prix meant a lot to me. I won in this Mercedes-Benz W196 in 1955, just before the very last corner. It really was a very special day.
“I remember it quite well: I’d caught up with Fangio and overtaken him in traffic; as we went round the last corner I put my foot flat on the floor and took the chequered flag. I finished literally half a car length in front.
“Taking a look at Lewis’ car today, there’s no way I would get in it, but then he said the same thing about mine! He asked where the seatbelts were – we didn’t wear seatbelts!
“The atmosphere at the British Grand Prix will be fantastic. There’ll be some great racing at Silverstone; the public that come here always have a great time. It will also be the last chance to come and listen to the 2.4 litre V8s screaming around this wonderful circuit. The fans really have got to come and see it.” This weekend’s GP is in Canada. Meanwhile, tyre manufacturer Pirelli has defended itself in the Mercedes testing row, claiming it was Pirelli’s understanding that the German team had cleared the test after “good discussion” with motor racing’s world governing body, the FIA.
The test in Barcelona between May 15 and 17 became public knowledge just prior to last weekend’s Monaco Grand Prix, with Red Bull and Ferrari launching a protest. They claimed Mercedes were in breach of Formula One regulations because the current Mercedes car and lead drivers Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton were involved in the testing.
With the F1 world waiting on the FIA to announce whether the matter is to go before an International Tribunal, Mercedes and Pirelli are blaming one another over who should have kept the FIA in the loop.
Yesterday, Mercedes team principal Ross Brawn stated: “It was up to Pirelli to spread the information. “It wasn’t up to us, it was their test.” Yesterday, however, Pirelli motorsport director Paul Hembery laid the blame squarely on Mercedes, while insisting there was no attempt by his company to conduct the tests in secret.
“For these tests, as with others, we requested the use of a representative car,” he said. “We wanted to create a test that gave us great value. It has been suggested in some quarters we asked for a 2013 car, but that’s not true.
“We asked for a representative car. Our understanding was there had been good discussion between Mercedes and the FIA on this subject.”
Hembery insisted Mercedes had gained no advantage from the Barcelona test as the tyres being examined were for use in next year’s championship, and was adamant the test had not been secret in any way. “The test was performed blind. Mercedes have no idea, and still have no idea, of what was being tested.” – Daily Mail