Lewis Hamilton has long had a piece of Stuttgart in his apartment in Monaco. Actually: Two pieces. Firstly, Michael Schumacher's helmet. He exchanged helmets with his predecessor in the MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS team. In just the same way that football players swap shirts. And secondly the steering wheel from his new Mercedes AMG F1 W04, in which he will compete in the new season. To familiarize himself with it. "I want to win and I am 100% committed", said the 28-year-old British driver during his visit to Stuttgart on 21 January. "With the Silver Arrows and the visit to the Mercedes-Benz Museum and the AMG production I am beginning a new chapter". Nevertheless, the team must proceed step-by-step to close the final gap to the other top teams.
The 2008 Formula One champion has a type of "three-step plan": Firstly to successfully complete the races and score points. And then to make it to the podium and ultimately: To win races. As soon as possible and as many as possible. Before visiting Stuttgart, Lewis Hamilton had already toured the plants in Brackley and Brixworth where the new Silver Arrow is produced. "It is a privilege. I am incredibly proud to have become a part of Mercedes. They build the best cars in the world", he states.
