After challenging for the drivers’ title for the third time in four years in 2010, McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton has pulled out all the stops in preparation for 2011 and is hungrier than ever to claim his second world crown.

F1: After a strong finish to last season, you have made a few changes to your approach to racing and to your management, and you have changed your trainer aswell – are you fitter heading in to this season?

LH: The last couple of years I have been going to themountains in France — and I love it there. I like having all the snow, having the family there and having a white Christmas and everything.  Initially, that’s why I wanted to be there, but it is also perfect being at high altitude – it’s a lotmore hardwork so that when you come back down to sea level you really start feeling the benefits. So I like to go up high and do the training there. But also I just enjoy it.  Waking up in the morning and going hiking up amountain – there’s no substitute for that. I think it is also good for the soul. It’s good for your spirit to be in nice beautiful places.

F1: Do you feel fitter nowthan you have done going into a Formula One season previously?

LH: Yes, definitely. Last year I did very good training before the season aswell, but every year you adapt a little bit more and this year I think I started a little bit earlier and the programme we had was even better.  We were training two or three times a day.  It was very efficient. I came back and I went for a run with some friends and it was so easy! For the first couple of weeks it’s just incredibly easy, and while it does come back to normal, your base level is still higher.

F1: Was there a ‘weight’ aspect to the training given that the cars are heavier this year?

LH: No, I’m pretty lucky, I’m quite light. It was ridiculous when Heikki [Kovalainen] was my team-mate because he weighed nothing. He is like 60 kilos or something.  We used to compare weights and I was like, “Shoot, I have got to get down to his weight”, but I was never going to lose that much!  But the benefit then was greater in the sense that you could move more weight around in the cars.  Now, knowing that we would only have one per cent, 45.5 – 46.5 weightdistribution, it doesn’t really make much difference.  And I am quite light.

F1: How did it feel to be sitting in your old car during the first tests and be surrounded by new ones?

LH: It’s quite nice, I quite liked it. Ever since I have been in Formula One, I think we have generally had our car out at the first test. It’s always been the new carand we have pushed very hard to have it at the first test. Generally we are one of the first to launch our car and I quite liked the fact that we have done it differently this year, and that everyone else had pretty much launched their cars and we hadn’t. It was interesting to launch ours after the other times and hopefully itwill do the business.

F1: Your father said that he thinks you are evenmoremotivated than normal for 2011, is there a reason for that?

LH: No, I think I just feel that things in my life are much better now and that I feel in a much better place. I am able to focus even more energy than I have in the past to winning and that feels great.  It’s great to be here and I’m happy in my life, as I was at certain points of last year.  But I think every year I always approach the same but sometimes your training doesn’t go aswell, or you are more drained by appearances that you do, or certain things that you do.  This year it has been a lot clearer and the training has been a lot better and more efficient.  I’m feeling a lot better about the car and I always want it more.  You can never want it enough!

F1: You will have your dad around a bit again this season – he will be attending the odd race now that he is managing Paul di Resta.

LH: Well he has done a fantastic job to get Paul [di Resta] in and clearly he is very gifted at getting drives for Paul, which is fantastic. He is going to be coming to work and supporting Paul but obviously he is my dad so naturally he will be up and down [the pitlane], but things are going very well with him.

F1: Now that Formula One has tyres with high degradation does it mean that the racing will become more important than the qualifying?

LH: Now it looks like there is quite a big difference between compounds, or so it seems for some people, and for us I don’t know if there was too big a difference. But obviously last year we had one pit-stop and now the degradation is massive on these tyres and it might be for some people that they have to do two or three pitstops–which I think is quite good. I didn’t actually like doing one pit-stop last year, I didn’t think it was as exciting as it was in the past when we did two or three.  I’m hoping that we have to do more this year, because it adds more excitement.

F!: And how about your driving style?

LH: Every year you always have to react differently, in qualifying and the race, to look after your tyres so this year it will be even more so. But I love it – I love thechallenge and the thrill of racing. I am so lucky. I know it and I just want to enjoy it more than ever this time.

F1: Having seen the new MP4-26 unveiled in Berlin – and taken a close look –what are your feelings ahead of the 2011 season?

LH: It looks really great, very fresh and with lots of new features. I just hope it proves that the innovations work when we go testing and, at this stage, I am confident. I feel relaxed and I feel determined. I have spared no thing in my fitness work and I feel as fit, focused and refreshed now as I did ahead of my first season four years ago. This will be my fifth season in Formula One. So my aim for this year is to ensure that everything comes together in the best possible way and that, like last year, I’m able to fight for the title right down to the final race. Of course, Jenson and I will be racing alongside three fellow world champions in 2011 – and that’s a testament to the strength of Formula One right now. It’s incredibly hard to say who’ll be up at the front, but I’m an absolute racer and I’m looking forward to some fantastic, close racing and another thrilling conclusion to the season – hopefully with a McLaren driver on top.