Lewis Hamilton's ex-trainer reveals biggest challenge of working with Mercedes star and names hardest F1 track | The Sun

LEWIS HAMILTON'S former trainer has revealed what the biggest challenge of training the Formula One great was.

Antti Vierula was part of Hamilton's support crew between 2011 and 2012 while the Brit was still with McLaren.

Since then Hamilton has gone on to rack up a total of seven F1 world titles, six of which have come at Mercedes.

However, speaking to OLBG, Vierula has now opened up on what the main challenge to working with him was.

He said: "You try and get the best out of the time you have, and that's the case for training any athlete.

"The racing schedule is so demanding, and the biggest challenge is weaving training into that schedule.

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"The training can't hurt the athlete or stress them too much. Training also can't deplete the energy levels. You learn a lot about the athletes you're training as you spend time with them.

"The coach has to adapt training to the specifics of the individual, but that's something you naturally learn as time goes on."

Vierula, who now trains Hamilton's former team-mate Valtteri Bottas, previously revealed the type of training they got up to.

He told Grosvenor Sport how Hamilton loved running, while Bottas preferred cycling.

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The workouts also included intense training for the muscles on his backside.

Hamilton, 38, paired up with Angela Cullen in 2016, with the duo only going their separate ways ahead of the Saudi Arabia Grand Prix earlier this season.

Following the split, Vierula backed Cullen's comments that Hamilton "got the best out of everyone".

He said: "I liked working with Lewis, it was a joy, he’s a passionate guy on the track. He was brilliant in getting everything out of the car and engineers, he pushes people to get the best out of everyone.

"He would work hard getting answers from engineers, giving his opinion about what he thinks is right. He had a brilliant will to improve."

Hamilton is staring down his second winless F1 season in a row, having always managed to win at least one race every season prior to 2022.

His W14 Mercedes struggled at last weekend's Brazil Grand Prix, and he admitted Max Verstappen and Red Bull would likely be the dominant force over the next couple of seasons.

However, Vierula does not believe Brazil is among the hardest tracks to race on.

Instead, Vierula declared Japan's Suzuka Circuit was the most difficult track on the calendar.

He said: "I'd say the hardest tracks are the ones with high-speed corners. There's a lot of braking involved, and those kinds of tracks are the most demanding.

"I’d say Suzuka is the hardest for the neck, the high speed corners give drivers a lot of work.

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"Also Hungaroring is physically demanding, not many straights really, always turning somewhere.

"Monaco and Singapore are tough as well, there are a lot of corners and not really any straight lines to rest. It requires a high level of focus all the time."

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