Hamilton on Pirelli, DRS and EJ

Lewis Hamilton reckons Pirelli have impressed, DRS does at times make it “too easy” to pass and Eddie Jordan doesn’t know much about F1…

Lewis Hamilton reckons Pirelli have been “pretty impressive”, DRS does at times make it “too easy” to pass and Eddie Jordan doesn’t know much about F1.

Hamilton was present at the Formula One Teams’ Association’s Fan Forum in Woking on Thursday where he was asked about the changes to this year’s regulations.

This year’s Championship has seen the successful return of Pirelli tyres to F1, the introduction of the Drag Reduction System and KERS’s comeback.

“I love the new tyres, I think Pirelli have some an amazing job,” said the McLaren driver.

“I wasn’t really sure if they were going to be any good because Bridgestone had been in F1 for so long and had so much experience. But Pirelli have come in and straight away they’ve lived up to people’s expectations, which is pretty impressive.

“KERS we’ve had before, so the DRS is probably the most unique part of the new rules for this year. It makes it easier to catch people up and then be in a position to overtake.”

Pressed as to whether DRS has in fact made it “too easy” to overtake, Hamilton said: “Before we had the DRS is was very tough to overtake. You could do it, but it depended on the different circuits as to whether or not you’d have the opportunity.

“What we’re trying to achieve with it is to give the drivers a choice about whether or not to overtake. Of course there are some circumstances where you breeze past someone before you get to the braking zone.

“I passed Michael (Schumacher) last weekend (in Valencia) and was able to move back onto the racing line, so it was far too easy.

“I watched the replay and Eddie Jordan was talking on the BBC about it being a special manoeuvre! It shows how much he knows! It was good to hear him say something good about me.”