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More focus on driver at Mercedes - Hamilton

ESPN Staff
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Lewis Hamilton: "I couldn't really be happier" © Getty Images
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Lewis Hamilton says there is more focus on the driver's needs at Mercedes than there was at his old team McLaren.

Hamilton joined Mercedes over the winter and has been getting up to speed with his new team at the recent pre-season tests. He said there are still tedious jobs he has to do when he is not in the car, but that the main focus is more on the driver at Mercedes.

"We still have sponsors, we still have sponsors' appearances, we still have filming days, so there's not a huge difference in how they go about their business," he said. "But the focus on the driver and the driver's performance and the driver being ready for the job at hand is the one thing that I think is a little bit better here. They want me to be as ready as I can possibly be physically and mentally and they want to do everything possible to make sure everything is taken care of. That's something great to experience."

Hamilton revealed he also has more free time at Mercedes this year, but said he is still communicating well with his team to make the car better.

"It's not that I have more freedom, it's just that I have a little bit more time in my life," he added. "But I'm still in a racing team, I'm still helping the team move forward and helping it improve. I'm absolutely loving it, I'm so happy with the people that I'm working with. They are just so enthusiastic and are willing to improve and make a huge effort to communicate with me to get up to speed ahead of the first race. They've obviously made some good steps forwards from last year and we're on the right track and moving in the right direction. I couldn't really be happier."

He said he felt there were still areas he could improve on as a driver and feels Mercedes is the right environment in which to do that.

"I feel I can improve as a person, as a driver and as a whole. There are always areas for improvement. What they are, I'll have to write them down and figure them out, but I'm always trying to learn more. I've got so many things that I still need to learn in Formula One, things I can improve on and areas that are weak. I will just work on those during the season."

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