With testing underway, we ask what makes Hamilton the best driver on the circuit and why he is the perennial favourite to win the title

There is no disputing Lewis Hamilton’s dominance of the sport of Formula One. Over the past four years, he has won two additional world titles and was involved in a dogfight for the other two. Even when he was at McLaren, he always seemed to get something from the car when it was on its knees. But, what makes him so good? In an era dominated by driver aides, why is he so much better than the competition? We decided to put our thinking caps on to try and figure it out.

The Car

No one is saying Hamilton isn’t a great driver. To do that would be slanderous as you don’t win three world titles without a lot of talent. And he does have talent in abundance. He also has a great car. When Mercedes entered F1 they took over the former skunk works previously known as Brawn GP and shoe-horned an engine made in the UK by a company they also bought a decade or so earlier. Previously known as Ilmor, a specialist F1 engine manufacture, the company was re-branded to Mercedes Benz High Performance Powertrains Ltd, based in Brixworth, Northampton just off the A509. This combination of F1 know how and engineering excellence has turned Mercedes F1 into wining combination. With Lewis Hamilton at the helm they have become an unbeatable partnership.

The Speed

Is there anyone faster than Hamilton? Put him in the Red Bull or the Ferrari and he would find pace no one else could find. And that is his greatest trait – his unparalleled speed. Whether he has the best car, Hamilton always pushes it to its limits, and it shows on every race weekend. We might take it for granted now, but the sight of the Mercedes nearly clipping the wall of flying around the chicane of Monaco is not normal for most but it is normal for Hamilton. It could be argued that even the likes of Alonso and Schumacher never performed as quickly as Lewis. More consistently, yes, but not as quickly.

The Driving Style

For all his power, his driving style is pretty smooth. In fact, he wastes less fuel than most of his rivals and his tyres don’t routinely fall off the cliff. Although it might come as a surprise, it shouldn’t because you can’t perform in F1 without a smooth driving style. The 2016 rules were tough, for example the tyres were designed to be degradable over a race weekend so driving conservatively was the preferred modus operandi. However even if Hamilton used rubber from Wiltshire Tyres instead of Pirelli he could still win races because of the Mercedes superiority. Hamilton’s driving style is a mixture of smooth, silky precision with a natural raw ability to drag time out of whatever car he drives. The net result is pure speed.

The Consistency

He is a well-rounded driver – that is a fact. Gone are the days where people can say he only has the speed or he has the best car because he has everything. Over the years, he has mixed his natural talent with experience to give himself a unique advantage over the field. That means he is as at home leading the pack as he is outmanoeuvring and overtaking the field.

Testing may have only just started, but there is only one favourite for this year’s title.