Damon Hill has always had abundant admiration for Lewis Hamilton but the former World Champion reckons the Mercedes driver's still indulges in a little too much festive glitz away from the race track.
Hill believes Hamilton's relative under-performance in Spain a fortnight ago relative to that of his victorious team mate Nico Rosberg may have stemmed from a slight lack of focus, something a driver of his status cannot afford when fighting for the title at such a competitive level.
"I got the sense that Lewis slightly took his eye off the ball in Spain," Hill told the Express. "Nico went home and said, ‘right, I’m not having any more of this’ and focused on the next job. But look at the schedule Lewis indulged in between Bahrain and that race. He went to film in Italy, then went to the Mayweather fight – and jet lag is very debilitating and you cannot be on your best form."
While it's hard to argue with Hill's assessment that play comes after work for any dedicated F1 driver, Hamilton has appeared thoroughly committed this year, having precisely distanced himself from the superficial gloss and glitter which has typically been associated with his image and success in the past. Hill believes however that there are still too many unnecessary distractions on the British driver's docket.
“The impression Lewis gives is that he wants to enjoy his life – he has been successful and he wants to enjoy all the fruits of fame and that’s great. But his first task is to win races, that’s where everything comes from. What he has to do is work out what’s at stake. He is on target to become one of the most successful racing drivers. It’s whether you want to dedicate yourself to that task and play afterwards.”
In Monte-Carlo, Hamilton will be up against a rival - Nico Rosberg - who not only secured an outstanding victory in the Principality last year but will be seeking to capitalize on his victorious Spanish momentum.
“If I was competing I would certainly reassess my challenger," Hill concluded. "Lewis got the start to the season which he didn’t get last year but you can never afford to relax for a minute.”
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