Hamilton says he starts afresh after 2016 setbacks and says he and Mercedes "communicating better than ever"
Thursday 23 February 2017 16:27, UK
Lewis Hamilton says the new F1 season represents a "clean slate" for him after the difficulties of 2016 as he sets his sights on winning a fourth world title.
Hamilton made clear at the launch of Mercedes' W08 at Silverstone that "I want to win" in 2017, and stressed he and the team "are communicating better than ever".
After losing the world crown to former team-mate Nico Rosberg in a 2016 season in which unreliability hampered his campaign, Hamilton insisted: "My feelings from last year don't linger anymore. I start with a clean slate.
"Last year, as all the previous years, with all those experiences have just helped strengthen. Sometimes you don't know how to get through things and you find a new tool [of dealing with it] and coming out of the other side.
"I feel this year I'm stronger again and another year I feel more complete as a driver. It's going to be the best prepared I've ever been and if I knew what I did now in 2007 [Hamilton's rookie season] I probably would have done a lot better - not that I've done too bad!"
Hamilton's relationship with Mercedes' management came under scrutiny at several points last year, notably in the Abu Dhabi title decider when he ignored instructions to speed up in a last-ditch attempt to turn the championship battle in his favour.
But, three months on, and the Briton revealed he was "feeling in a positive place with the team" heading into his fifth season at Brackley.
"We talked about a lot of stuff over the winter, I was able to get some things off my chest and now we are communicating better than ever," added Hamilton. "I'm the best equipped I have ever been to work with my team-mate and manage the relationship with my experience and maturity."
Asked to elaborate on those comments, Hamilton told Sky Sports News HQ: "Naturally, relationships never stay perfect. They're always up and down. I think that's just the way of life. Communication is the key. In such an intense year, sometimes the communication does get lost.
"At the end of the year it was great to be able to clear up the junk and really start with a clean slate. The mistakes we made last year we can hopefully apply this year to make sure we get it right."
Will Mercedes stay ahead?
Hamilton and Mercedes start as favourites for 2017's world titles but, as the team acknowledged, F1's winter rules overhaul means a continuation of their supremacy cannot be guaranteed.
Describing the W08 as "the most detailed car we've ever built", Hamilton said: "I have a strong feeling that we still have the best team. How we've interpreted the rules...we will find out next week how our pace is relative to others."
He added: "I'm really hoping Formula 1's going to be super exciting for the fans this year. I really hope it's closer between the teams, and I hope us drivers are going to be able to make more of a difference, to be able to put on more of a show."
Hamilton ready for physical test
F1's faster cars for 2017 have partly been designed to increase the physical nature of the sport for drivers and Hamilton is keen to see just how difficult they prove to tame when running at full power from testing onwards.
"It's going to be a massive challenge, both mentally and physically, particularly at the beginning to find where the limits of the cars are which are so different from the envelope you are used to driving in the past," he said. "But I'm excited by it and may the best man win."
"When we get in the car we will be faced with the unknown: I don't know how hard it will be for the body, I don't know how later l am going to be able to brake, I don't know how much faster I will be able to go through corners. But already just from the couple of laps I've done I can tell the car goes a lot faster through the corners."
Hamilton's first full run in the W08 will be on the opening afternoon of next week's Barcelona test, with the Briton and new team-mate Valtteri Bottas to complete half days in the car across F1's fortnight of testing.
The first F1 pre-season test starts on Monday February 27 and the Sky Sports F1 Digital team will be providing live commentary from dawn until dusk on all four days while Sky Sports News HQ will also deliver live updates from trackside.
