It appears Formula One racecar driver Lewis Hamilton has a unique steering technique, but fans are only now catching on.
While most drivers grip their wheels with one hand on either side as they hold on to the handles, fans on Twitter have noticed that Hamilton keeps his left hand over the wheel when starting races.
“I don’t think much has been said about this, but Hamilton’s first lap gear shift holding arrangements are unique,” one user pointed out. “No other driver adopts this position – not even his team-mate.”
A mechanic offered a response to the observation, explaining the logic behind the bizarre grip. Basically, Lewis does so to prevent himself from accidentally going down a gear.
“Do you know why Lewis starts like that?” he is heard asking in the video shown above. “Why? What do you think? Is he showing you something? Or is he holding [the lower gear paddle] so he can’t go down a gear? If you put your hand there, you can’t go down a gear.”
Lewis only uses the grip at the beginning of races, which is when shifting up is crucial. He returns to normalcy thereafter.
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The British driver is the only driver who uses such a grip and it seems to be because he sticks to a thinner shift paddle. He hasn’t been using it that long, only making the switch during the 2020/21 season.
