“Like an octopus all over the wheel” - James Vowles explains what makes Lewis Hamilton so “incredible”
James Vowles has reflected on working with Lewis Hamilton during his time at Mercedes.
Williams boss James Vowles has likened Lewis Hamilton to “an octopus all over the wheel” when detailing why the seven-time world champion is “incredible”.
Vowles worked alongside Hamilton during six of the British driver’s title triumphs in the hybrid era.
Before joining Williams as their team principal, Vowles was Mercedes’ head of strategy and was seen as one of their most senior figures alongside Toto Wolff.
Speaking on the High Performance Podcast, Vowles explained why Hamilton has a clear edge over his competitors.
“Lewis just had these oodles of natural talent,” he said. “With him he's got these tendencies and traits where, if you go out in FP1 he's like an octopus all over the wheel.
“He'll change every setting on the wheel and explore. It's what makes him incredible.”
To emphasise how talented Hamilton is behind an F1 car, Vowles shared a story of how he got the upper hand over former teammate Nico Rosberg at Interlagos.
"There was a time on simulation in Brazil it said 'go into 7th gear up the hill' and within two laps Nico was doing exactly what we asked him to do,” he added.
“With Lewis, he went back down to sixth and he was finding a tenth there. It took until the end of the session before Nico saw the data.
"He's [Hamilton] this optimiser where he'll use the data as a starting ground, but he's got a feel beyond anything else for it. He's got no issues exploring the boundaries. That originally manifested itself when he would often go off at Turn 1.
“He would find the absolute limit of braking and it would push him wide at Turn 1, then abort the lap.”
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