230 lines
6.5 KiB
Plaintext
Executable File
230 lines
6.5 KiB
Plaintext
Executable File
sport
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motorsport
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formulaone
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lewishamilton
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4272876
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# Hungry Lewis Hamilton champing at bit to get behind the wheel again in new
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McLaren
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## Lewis Hamilton insisted on Friday that he felt no added pressure as world
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champion, on the day that he unveiled the car he will use to defend his title.
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460
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TelegraphPlayer-4273544
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[Link to this video][1]
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By Andrew Baker 7:56PM GMT 16 Jan 2009
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[Comments][2]
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The gleaming silver MP4-24 is not the prettiest McLaren of all time: new
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regulations on aerodynamic appendages make such an appellation impossible. But
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it looked powerfully purposeful and it was noted that while answering
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questions perched on a high stool next to the car, Hamilton could not prevent
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himself from leaning over and patting the right front tyre every couple of
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minutes at the team's base in Woking.
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He will get his hands on the car in a more useful manner in Portugal next week
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when it takes to the test track and before that he cannot say whether the new
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slick tyres, adjustable front wing and electronic KERS power boost system will
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suit his aggressive style of driving.
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But Hamilton can testify to his own state of mind in the run-up to the season,
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an encouraging combination of confidence and relaxation.
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"I don't think there is any added pressure just because I'm now world
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champion," he said. "In fact, I feel more relaxed going into the season simply
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because I'm coming off a great season. It is like when you go from race to
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race in that when you win one race, at the next you've extra confidence.
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" I feel I have reset my goals, and reset my targets back to when I started in
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Formula One in that I want to be world champion. I don't sit here saying 'I am
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world champion'. I sit here saying 'I want to be world champion'."
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## Related Articles
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* [Dennis steps down at McLaren][3]
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16 Jan 2009
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* [Ecclestone turns F1 heads in Italy][4]
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16 Jan 2009
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But the 2009 season is unusually difficult to predict. The revamped
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aerodynamics, the new kinetic energy recovery system (KERS), a return to
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slicks and a ban on testing once the season has started, ensure the teams head
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into the year facing the unknown.
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No one is sure who will have made the most of the new rules, but McLaren's
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vast resources and reputation for innovation should take them close to the
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front. Hamilton has been working closely with McLaren's technical staff over
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the winter to make sure that he will be quickly up to speed with the new
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gadgets.
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"Because we have a completely new car, a new package, I've sat down more with
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the engineers of late," he said.
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"It is like the preparation I had for 2007. I am understanding the differences
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in the suspension, KERS and all the safety aspects. But also the vital few
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tests we have, I will only have seven days in the car, and so we are going to
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make sure we really extract the most from those days.
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"I'm quite good at learning and understanding new tyres, so I don't think that
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I'll be at a disadvantage. Hopefully we don't have any reliability problems,
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and we have been very, very fortunate in the past.
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"In two years we have not had any reliability issues, so I am confident the
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team have done a great job."
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The one area in which Hamilton feels he can improve is by making fewer
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mistakes, such as running into the back of Kimi Raikkonen in the pit lane in
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Montreal last season. "I analysed the mistakes I made last year, for example
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in Montreal with the pit-lane light," Hamilton said. "Every time I now go down
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the pit lane I am always looking out for the light.
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"You just have to learn from the previous experiences. I am sure there will be
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some experiences this year that will take you by surprise, and you are always
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learning.
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"I am sure the oldest man in the world is still learning today. We just have
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to make sure we try to prepare ourselves in advance and try and avoid any
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mistakes."
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Hamilton has not spent the entire winter staring at design computers. He has
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been on holiday, including some time in the United States, where he enjoys
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walking down the street without being recognised, and perfected his movie-
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going technique, which involves a hat and other forms of disguise.
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He recently celebrated his 24th birthday, and another cause for celebration
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was the award of an MBE in the New Year Honours List. "It's crazy," he said.
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"What an honour. It's pretty cool to know you have letters at the end of your
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name."
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He also enjoyed a visit to 10 Downing Street, where he presented Prime
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Minister Gordon Brown's children with miniature race suits.
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"I'm told they wore them for the rest of the day," Hamilton said. It certainly
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cannot do any harm to have fans in high places.
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Hamilton has clearly enjoyed the off-season, but has not let himself go. He
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looks lean and hungry and he can't keep his hands off the MP4-24.
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Encouraging signs.
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[X][5] Share & bookmark
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[What are these?][6]
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* Share: [Share][5] [ ][7] [ ][8]
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[Tweet][9]
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http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/motorsport/formulaone/lewishamilton/4272876
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/Hungry-Lewis-Hamilton-champing-at-bit-to-get-behind-the-wheel-again-in-new-
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McLaren.html
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Telegraph
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## [Lewis Hamilton][10]
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* ### [Sport »][11]
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* ### [Andrew Baker »][12]
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* ### [Motorsport »][13]
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* ### [Formula One »][14]
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* ### [McLaren »][15]
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External Links
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* ### [McLaren][16]
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In sport
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[![Formula One 2011: drivers' and constructors' world championships standings
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- Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton][17] ][18]
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### [F1 2011: standings][18]
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[![Formula One, 2011: Team by Team guide: Red Bull][19] ][20]
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### [F1 2011: team-by-team guide][20]
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[![][21] ][22]
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### [F1 2011: full race schedule][22]
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[![Follow Telegraph Sport on Twitter][23]][24]
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### [Follow Telegraph Sport on Twitter][24]
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[X][5] Share & bookmark
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Delicious Facebook Google Messenger Reddit Twitter
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Digg Fark LinkedIn Google Buzz StumbleUpon Y! Buzz
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[What are these?][6]
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Share:
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* [ ][5]
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* [ ][7]
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* [ ][8]
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* [Tweet][9]
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* ## [LEWIS HAMILTON ACTION PHTOS »][25]
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Lewis Hamilton action photos: The best full-colour Lewis Hamilton action
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photos.
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Advertisement
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![][26]
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telegraphuk
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Please enable JavaScript to view the [comments powered by Disqus.][27] [blog
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comments powered by Disqus][28]
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Advertisement
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Formula 1 Drivers' championship: Latest standing in the Formula One drivers'
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championship.
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## LEWIS HAMILTON LINKS
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### [Lewis Hamilton on the web][10]
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[Lewis Hamilton][29] | [SecretLewis.com][30] | [@SecretLewis][31]
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Advertisement
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Classified Advertising
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* [Motoring][32]
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* [Engineering Jobs][33]
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* [Property][34]
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