16/03/2016
NEWS STORY
Never mind the all-new qualifying format or the ability to choose a third tyre compound, world champion Lewis Hamilton believes it is the clamp down on radio communications between drivers and their teams that will have the biggest impact.
The ruling that "the driver shall drive the car alone and unaided" is intended to end the practice whereby drivers appeared to be the conduit via which the boffins on the pit-wall, garage and team HQs were actually doing most of the work. This season, following the initial clamp down last year, the information passed to drivers by their engineers whilst on track will be minimal.
"The changes to the radio rules will have a big impact," Hamilton told the official F1 website. "The engineers now can't give you prompts or reminders that might affect performance during the race, so you have to remember so much more.
"This even applies to strategy," he added, "so when it's shifting throughout the race you won't be in the loop. It will be tough, but hopefully it will make for more exciting races. Now we head to Melbourne and the first to chance to see how all this plays out on track. I can't wait to get started."
With stiff competition from his Mercedes teammate, and hopefully rivals including Sebastian Vettel, some wonder whether the Briton's lack of a killer instinct in the final races of 2015 showed a loss of motivation.
"People keep asking me about motivation," he said, "but I just have to look at the faces of all those people at the Mercedes factory to know what I'm fighting for. I know there's still more to come from me, I think I've shown that in the past two years. There certainly needs to be some extra in my tank, as the competition will be stronger than ever this year.
"You're constantly faced with new challenges to reach perfection. Just as you think you're close, suddenly you fall further back, like someone dangling a carrot on a piece of string and whipping it away just as you reach for it. It's tough mentally but that's a good thing, as it forces you to be resilient and seek improvement in every area."