What I learnt (about myself) from Lewis Hamilton

Image courtesy of Thesundaily.my

I must start by qualifying myself. I am neither a Formula 1 (F1) nor a Lewis Hamilton fan. But I recently watched a brief interview with him on Graham Norton (British talk show host) and learnt something new. About myself. Not him! Because what I learnt, new for me, Hamilton had been doing it all the time. But all I saw, thanks to my assumptions and biases, was a bunch of cars going around a track. Boring – affect heuristics (see table below). Apologies to all F1 fans reading this!

But now I know, so much goes into being ready for a race. To be fair, I always knew there was more to it but never bothered to learn more. I knew driving these cars are a skill especially at the speeds they do. But I had never thought of the F1 drivers as athletes. And that is what I learnt. They are athletes. They are not athletes in the ‘traditional’ sense, but they are athletes!

Athlete definition: a person who is proficient in sports and other forms of physical exercise.

I would have never considered driving an F1 car physical exercise but having heard Hamilton’s stories and requirements, I now think otherwise. 

Here’s why. At the beginning of the season, early in the year, the cars are ‘heavier’. Because of this Hamilton is required to be lighter to keep the overall weight (car + driver + fuel) ideal. Every extra kilogramme results in precious extra nanoseconds per lap. Which is not acceptable. So, to counter that, Hamilton is required to be a certain weight.

He is required to be 1 to 2 kilogrammes lighter in the early races. And because of the shape of the car, he is not allowed to carry any excess weight on his shoulders. His upper frame must be narrow and slim to fit comfortably in the car. As the year progresses and the car gets ‘lighter’, through the removal of certain components, he is allowed to gain an extra kilogramme or 2! Wow!

That’s the body-weight requirement on Hamilton as the driver. Then there are the forces of the sport. The physics of the race. The centrifugal forces as he races around corners at high speed. To counter that force requires core strength. He said he loses upwards of 4 kilogrammes in weight during a race from sweating. In countries like Singapore, he loses more weight due to the higher ambient temperatures. Another wow! (All this whilst sitting in a car!)

Then there is mental fitness. Physical fitness certainly helps mental fitness. As the body copes with the extremes of the race, being physically fit certainly helps the mental component of the race. But, I believe, his mental fitness is the one in charge.

It is easy to see that driving is Hamilton’s passion. And that passion drives everything else he does. He does not see driving and all that goes with it - keeping fit, losing, or putting on weight, being mentally alert- as a routine but a way of life. Which keeps him at the top of his game.

So, what did I learn? 2 key lessons.

1. There is much I don’t know and assume

We get through our typical day on trust and assumptions of others and things. We are autopilot creatures. Most times we are either oblivious to or not interested in knowing more. We press a button to get our gadgets started without knowing how it works. I am not saying that we need to understand everything that we use or see. And we make assumptions of who or what we don’t know. But, if we stop to understand, it has the potential to help us see other possibilities that we were not aware of.

2. I don’t know till I try/do, and I don’t try/do because I don’t know!

It can become a vicious cycle. We often wait for clarity to act. But sometimes clarity comes after action. In my case being open to listening to Lewis Hamilton. Because it has given me a new appreciation for him, F1 drivers and the race.

The next time you switch on your radio, start your car, your gadget or interact with someone new, take a moment to learn more. It may just fire up new neural pathways that may help you see an assumption or bias in a new light.

Below is a table of common decision-making biases that can cloud our decisions/thinking. I hope you find them useful.

As always, you can reach me at yoga@yoganesadurai.com

Lewis Hamilton, if you happen to read this, I salute you for the athlete that you are!