Hamilton wants "more physical", harder to drive F1 cars

Lewis Hamilton believes Formula 1 drivers should be “massively depleted” following races and wants cars to be harder to drive from 2021.

Five-time world champion Hamilton, who claimed his third victory of the season in the Spanish Grand Prix to take the lead of the championship from Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas, has called for changes to make the sport more physical in future.

Hamilton suggested one way to make F1 cars more difficult to drive would be to remove power steering.

"Drug testing is random, I would say it is around three times a year maybe or maybe less,” Hamilton explained when asked about how often drivers are drug tested.

“There used to be a point where there was quite a bit of testing away from the track, back home or in hotels, that sort of thing. But honestly, this is not a sport where you need to do anything.

“It is not like in cycling where you need more blood flowing through the heart or more oxygen. We are not fatiguing. In all honesty, the cars are not hard enough to drive.

“It should be more physical. I think in 2021, they maybe need to get rid of power steering, for example. We should be massively depleted afterwards. That's how sport should be.”

Hamilton compared F1 to other sports such as tennis and cycling and feels F1 drivers should be visibly exhausted at the conclusion of a grand prix.

"Tennis players are finished at the end of the game, especially after multiple hours, and cyclists, they should be dead after the Tour de France - I feel that is what we should be about.

“But it is less so these days and that’s why an 18-year-old can come in and have no problems, but I think it should be the case. The point is, none of us have been cheating.

“There is no point cheating or doing anything to enhance our bodies. It's just training normally and being healthy.”