Lewis Hamilton not a fan of simulators or track walks

Lewis Hamilton has admitted that he does not spend a lot of time in Mercedes' simulator, saying that he could learn just as much from a PlayStation.

In a time when teams are relying on simulators to make up for a lack of testing, Hamilton has dismissed the importance of the technology for drivers.

"I'm not often in our simulator because the system is not good at this time, we are working to improve that," Hamilton said. "I do not spend a lot of time in the simulator. When I drove for McLaren, I was far too often in the simulator. But I can also buy a PlayStation, you will learn just as much."

"In the simulator you feel no emotion. You have to adapt yourself to the simulator. In the car you drive just. In the simulator you can't feel the bumps, the curbs are different, the speed is different. You don't feel the speed, you don't feel how physical it is. Engineers might learn a lot about fuel efficiency, aerodynamics and power generation, but I do not like it."

He also played down the importance of track walks, revealing that he has not done one since 2010.

"Track walks are just like that. I stopped doing them in 2010 and it has had absolutely no impact . Maybe the others but does not work for me."

It doesn't appear to have slowed him down though, as he topped first practice in Baku, a track that Formula One is visiting for the first time this weekend.

AU Albert Park - 13 March 2015

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