Paddy Lowe protects Hamilton: "He's not a troublemaker"
F1 News
- GPblog.com
After the crash with Max Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton received positive and negative comments. On social media some people used racist remarks. The FIA and Mercedes released a statement. Many representatives of the press thought this was a race incident that could happen in the first lap, and some even accused the current world champion of being a dirty driver.
Not a troublemaker
Paddy Lowe, the former Williams team manager, worked with Hamilton many times during his career. The two Englishmen met at McLaren and also teamed up during their time with Mercedes. To GP Racing Magazine Lowe says: "Lewis is a great driver. He's one of the best drivers ever. He has broken so many records because he is so consistent, dedicated and loyal. Hamilton is not a troublemaker."
Lowe said Hamilton lacked focus in his early years: "He wasn't always focused back then. That came out a bit more in the years after his debut. One of the things he learned is to focus for 110 percent. You can see that he can and does bring that to bear every race now." The loss against Rosberg in 2016 also had its impact: "He couldn't leave anything to chance and he hasn't done that since."
Alonso
The year at McLaren along with Fernando Alonso was especially difficult for Hamilton: "That was a complicated year. The only thing that directly affected him at the time was his teammate. People always think that there is a lot going on between teammates, but if you look at how they communicate in the garage and meetings, you notice that they mostly ignore each other. That's not strange at all."