LEWIS HUNGRY FOR MORE

A rickshaw ride away from the last Metro station on the Rithala line,behind two rounds of cursory security checks and right across the lagoon at Rohinis adventure...

A rickshaw ride away from the last Metro station on the Rithala line,behind two rounds of cursory security checks and right across the lagoon at Rohinis adventure park on this steamy Saturday afternoon,Delhi got its first brush with Formula One excitement. Lewis Hamiltons visit,even with a cricket match thrown in,couldve done with a few more Delhiites,but with the Briton at his charming best,it was witticisms that kept the afternoon snappy.

Hamilton,here for a promotional event,entered with a mic that took time to work,but made sure he mingled with his team mates,joked about the heat and Delhis drivers and made for a good sport when some of the contest winners wanted just one extra moment with the star of the day. All,with a smile on.

With all the exclamations from him about the heat,the trick question,on the proposed F1 race that the country may host in the near future,had to come,but it was tackled with ease. The preparations as a driver will be the key,but having seen the fans and the kind of interest here,Im very excited about the race in Delhi, he said. Ive seen the drivers in Delhi,theyll be really competitive on the racetrack, he laughed.

Cricketing lessons

He took time to settle in to the cricketers role his team even lost the match to the one made out of a few Delhi Ranji players then joked he might get some cricket lessons from friend,English cricketer Kevin Pietersen.

Im not a huge cricket fan,but I do like to keep an eye on it, he said,and its nice these days to rib my Australian trainer,telling him that now its our turn to have the upper hand in the Ashes.

A win in the last race at Hungary after an indifferent start to the season has put the spring back in the step,and it showed. I was hardly the defending champion as we McLaren were not really competing at the beginning. But now that the improvements in the car have come,hopefully we can make an impact. The gap in points with championship leader Jenson Button is huge,but Im excited finally, he said.

There is also excitement of racing against Michael Schumacher. Hamilton had come into Formula One the year the seven-time champion announced his retirement,so with the German making a comeback for Ferrari,he finally gets his chance. Its huge for me just to be in the same race as him Schumacher. Whether I win or lose,itll be great to just race alongside him, Hamilton said.

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There are no ghosts from the Felipe Massa accident in Hungary that left the Brazilian hospitalised. As drivers we cant let an accident come into our minds while racing. If I crash,I have to get up and come back and thats what we all would do, he said.

He even had a good word for championship laggards Force India. They have a great engine,and theyve been seriously competitive in a few races. I think they will get their first points of the season soon, Hamilton said.

The goodbye came with a promise to return.