Formula One fans have only just begun to notice Lewis Hamilton's peculiar steering wheel technique during races. But one of the Mercedes F1 team's mechanics has offered an explanation to end the mystery.
Hamilton’s diehard fans have followed his F1 journey for 17 years, during which he has won a record-tying seven world titles. But even the British racing legend’s most eagle-eyed supporters could be forgiven for not catching one of his racing habits - which is that he doesn't grip the steering wheel with both hands at the start of races.
During the first lap of a race, the soon-to-be Ferrari star instead has his left hand at the top of the wheel. His hand position becomes unmissable once you notice it and sets him apart from fellow drivers, including team-mate George Russell, who does not share the unique gear shift holding approach.
A Mercedes team mechanic finally sought to dispel the social media speculation surrounding the bizarre technique last year. And his reasoning - which quickly went viral - was recorded while he took fans on a tour of the Mercedes pit.
Mirroring Hamilton's grip, the mechanic asked: “Do you know why Lewis starts like that? Why? What do you think?
“Is he showing you something? Or is holding (the downshift gear paddle) so he can't go down a gear. Because what you don't want to do is accidentally go down a gear so If you put your hand there, you can't go down a gear.”
One theory behind Hamilton's decision is his preference for a smaller gear-shifting paddle compared to his fellow drivers, potentially making him more susceptible to the aforementioned issue.
It's important to note that the 39-year-old veteran hasn't always used this technique, however. It was first spotted during the 2021 season, during which Hamilton lost the championship in the final race to Max Verstappen under highly controversial circumstances.
His distinctive steering wheel grip was once again seen at the start of the Belgian Grand Prix last month. He secured first place for the second time this season after fellow Silver Arrows driver Russell was disqualified due to his car being under the minimum required weight at the end of the race.
Hamilton will be aiming for another victory at today's Dutch Grand Prix to narrow the gap on those ahead of him in the drivers' championship. However, it won't be an easy task, with Red Bull rival and championship leader Verstappen having won all three Zandvoort races since 1985.
Lewis Hamilton has always been one to do things differently. He’s forged his own path to the top of Formula 1, often by going his own way, even if that means doing something in the car that’s unique to the rest of the grid.
On his journey to the top, the seven-time world champion has had a profound impact on the sport around him, playing key roles in redesigning the race suit of a driver or aspects as fundamental as the steering wheel. The modern steering wheel design was first adopted by the Brit when he was at McLaren, and he took it with him to Mercedes. Soon, it was being used by more and more teams throughout the paddock, and it’s now recognisable to F1 fans as the leading choice up and down the grid.
The soon-to-be Ferrari driver’s ingenuity and unique creative impact doesn’t stop there, however, as many F1 fans have noticed he has a slight but consistent difference during the start procedure of a race. Instead of holding the wheel in the intended spot on the side as he would normally while driving the car, he puts his left hand over the top of the wheel and rests his palm on the flat, smooth carbon fibre surface, with his fingers then hidden from view.
Many could be forgiven for thinking this is a pre-race ritual, or just how the Mercedes driver feels comfortable, but there’s actually a competitive advantage to this technique as has been explained by a Mercedes mechanic. His hidden fingers actually fit behind the paddle shifter at the back of the steering wheel, which drivers use to change gears in modern F1 cars. This blocks the paddle from being accidentally pressed down as Hamilton is changing up in the gears, as the left paddle shifter is responsible for downshifts.
GIVEMESPORT's Key Statistic: Lewis Hamilton has 105 race wins in his Formula 1 career.
The impact of this is that the British driver cannot accidentally change down a gear during acceleration, which would cause the car to bog down and more than likely lose several places at the race start. While it’s not very common for this to happen, the potential repercussions are significant.
When Zhou Guanyu’s car encountered clutch problems at the 2023 Hungarian Grand Prix, he fell from a great starting position of fifth down to 14th by turn 1, eventually finishing 16th in a start procedure that ruined his afternoon. As someone used to fighting for wins and world championships, Hamilton must minimise the risk of such an act, and the 105-time race winner clearly feels more comfortable with this particular downshift risk averted.
It is not known specifically when Lewis Hamilton started this technique. It was spotted in 2021 during his title fight with Max Verstappen at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix, but some believe he may have been doing it a lot longer.
Lewis Hamilton's F1 stats (as of 25/08/24)
Race entries: 347
Drivers' Championships: 7 (2008, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020)
Wins: 105
Podiums: 201
Career points: 4789.5
Pole positions: 104
Fastest laps: 67
The change could have been inspired by the 2016 F1 season, where he lost the title in Abu Dhabi to childhood best friend and Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg, who then retired. In that season, Hamilton suffered several bad starts, often having to storm back past slower cars during the race, and limiting his results compared to his teammate in the process.
It’s possible the star driver adopted this technique in response to the issues he faced during this season, or perhaps he only protected himself from this when new challenger Verstappen emerged in 2021.
Either way, look out for the distinctive start procedure at today’s Dutch Grand Prix, where Hamilton will need a good start after only qualifying P12, and additionally being hit with a three-place grid penalty for impeding the Red Bull of Sergio Perez.
Hamilton confirmed that he will be leaving Mercedes to join Ferrari for the 2025 Formula 1 season back in February.
