What sets Lewis Hamilton apart from the rest of the Formula 1 grid? Is it that he’s a 7-time world champion or has 103 wins in F1? Is it the fact he’s vegan and owns a vegan-restaurant chain? While all these things make him stand out, there’s something more. Something he does on track right before the start of a race, when the five lights come on, and David Croft shouts, “It’s lights out, and away we go!” 

While Max Verstappen often starts races on second gear to avoid wheel spin, Hamilton holds his steering wheel differently than any other driver at the start of a race. His left-hand covers the entire top left corner of his wheel. But why does he do that? Is he hiding some settings from the onboard camera? In a recent video, a Mercedes mechanic explained why the seven-time champion does it.

The start of a race is when a driver needs to have the quickest reaction time they can. But it’s also one of the most tension-filled moments for them. And in the tension, they might press the wrong button on the wheel, which could ruin their chances. And Hamilton holds his wheel the way he does to prevent something like that. 

In the video posted on Twitter, the Mercedes mechanic demonstrates how Lewis holds the wheel, with four of his fingers gripping the back of it. From the front, it just looks like he’s holding the wheel like that for stability, but when the mechanic turns it around, they reveal that the fingers are lodged between the wheel and the downshift panel. But why? While starting a race, a driver would ideally only want to upshift, and on an F1 car’s steering wheel, the panel for both is the same, just on opposite sides—upshift on the right and downshift on the left. To avoid accidentally downshifting, Hamilton places his fingers behind the downshift panel.

While this seems like a perfectly good explanation by the mechanic for Hamilton’s quirk, fans on Twitter aren’t having it.

Lewis Hamilton accidentally downshifting is “weird”

Lewis Hamilton is a professional driver and one of the best at that. So when the Mercedes mechanic explained why he does what he does, most fans found it hard to believe that a professional driver could accidentally downshift.

One fan straight-up called it nonsense. They couldn’t accept the fact that Hamilton actually does it to avoid downshifting.

Because they called the action cool, another user replied to the tweet saying, “It’s cuz he’s gotta flex the fake Rolex.”

Read More: “That’s What Makes Sir Lewis the GOAT”: Fans Lash Out at Mercedes for Rejecting Hamilton’s Strategy as Results Start to Fall in Place

On his gloves, Hamilton has an IWC watch printed. While the user got the brand wrong, they feel that Hamilton is just showing off his “fake” watch.

One user explained that Hamilton holds onto the wheel like that much after he presses the clutch too. If that’s the case, holding the wheel like that wouldn’t allow him to downshift even when needed.

But most users just couldn’t believe that he would accidentally downshift.

One user even pointed out that the Engine Control Unit won’t let him downshift while accelerating and that he’s doing it just to cover the brake magic. The brake magic button is what he pressed at the 2021 Azerbaijan GP at the start of the two-lap sprint after the red flag that caused him to go straight into the parking lot instead of turning.

Why do you think Lewis holds the steering wheel like that? Is it because he’s avoiding downshifting or saving himself from another Baku situation?

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