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Lewis Hamilton poses with the new MP-27 Formula 1 car at the McLaren technology centre.
Lewis Hamilton admits he lost control of his life last year through the turmoil and emotional distress of a largely forgettable season.
“Last year I was battling with everyone,” said Hamilton. “I didn’t think anything was positive. I was all over the place.”
Hamilton, who became the youngest Formula One champion when he won the title in just his second season in 2008, found the need to purge the unhappy memories of last season before he begins testing McLaren’s new car, which he hopes will prove to be competitive from the opening race of the 2012 championship in Australia next month.
“Last year I didn’t have the pieces of the puzzle in place,” he said. “I didn’t know which part went where. There were times when I was in the car and supposed to make a certain call, and when I made that call I said the wrong things.
“There were times when I was juggling too many things; too many things I’d started were unfinished and too many questions remained unanswered. There was a lot of time when my mind was elsewhere - at times I know my focus was less than 90 per cent where it should have been.”
His private life was in emotional meltdown. His relationship with American singer, Nicole Scherzinger, became so stressful through being conducted by long-distance flights or conversations online, that the couple opted to split in October.
“That had been a part of my life that had always been really positive,” said Hamilton.
Over the winter, as Hamilton trained in the mountains of Colorado, the couple found time to meet and talk through the issues that had caused them to break up. Hamilton will not reveal if they have found a lasting solution, but he said: “I feel I have corrected things that I’ve done wrong. I have a clean slate, with nothing hanging over me, nothing worrying me.”
His seventh season in Formula One could prove to be a watershed. His contract with McLaren, negotiated by his father, Anthony, is in its final year. -Mail on Sunday
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Pat, wrote
I hope you can scream loud Karen 'cos I'll be screaming for someone else. Anybody. Just not Lewis Hamilton. Quite how he qualifies as the best driver I don't know. He was born into F1 with a silver spoon stuck in his mouth and still manages to talk with his mouth full. Bad patch? Yeah right. It's tough when you have to keep your chin up because the press doesn't like you and you only earn twenty million pounds a year. He once complained about how tough things were until he was 14 and Ron Dennis took him into the fold. He can't begin to contemplate rises like that of Mansell and Schumi who overcame financial impossibility and fought to the top. Sorry. Lewis Hamilton has had a fantastic chance. Better than any driver could hope for. He doesn't deserve the championship.
Karen, wrote
I will also support you Lewis. You are by far the best driver. We all go through bad patches in life, your seems over, and this is going to be your year!
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