Lewis Hamilton believes he can learn a trick or two from the ice-cool nature of Finnish rivals Kimi Raikkonen and Heikki Kovalainen.
Hamilton also works with another Finn within McLaren in Aki Hintsa, who has the grandiose title of Head of Human Performance.
Prior to the start of the last two seasons, Hamilton has headed to Finland to be put through a rigorous training regime in order to be at peak fitness.
The 23-year-old concedes to enjoying the Finnish lifestyle, appreciating why a relatively small country has produced a number of outstanding drivers in various disciplines over the years.
"The mentality of Finnish people, and athletes specifically, there is a difference and you can take something from that," remarked Hamilton.
"When I go to Finland and see the way of life there, it's a great way of living, it's very quiet.
"I generally find myself going there and relaxing. It's so quiet by the lakes, sitting by the fire having sausages! It's a cool way of life.
"But when I play Heikki at tennis, you can see the way he thinks, and therefore how easy it is for them to keep their minds straight.
"You can learn from that, so it's a bonus for me to have the chance to work with a few Finnish people."
Ahead of tomorrow's German Grand Prix, Hamilton appears the man to beat following a dominant performance in yesterday's practice.
Hamilton finished more than 0.6 seconds quicker than Kovalainen at the end of the day, and had a 0.7secs advantage over Felipe Massa in the second session in particular.
Even though it is fair to assume he was on low fuel when he set his hot lap, it still represents a remarkable gap.
Given the improvement in McLaren's form since a test at Silverstone earlier this month, Hamilton is convinced he is far better equipped to mount a title challenge throughout the second half of this year compared to last season.
"I feel much, much better than last year. I feel much more positive and confident as a driver than I did last year," said Hamilton.
"We've made some good steps with the car, and we just need to keep on pushing and not forget that there is a long way to go.
"Yesterday was certainly a very productive day for us as a team. It was a very strong performance and showed we are very competitive with a strong package.
"We didn't have any problems. I feel good, I feel comfortable, I feel pretty relaxed.
"We've made some very good steps forward, but I don't think there will be a gap of seven tenths today (in qualifying). It will be very close, within a couple of tenths."
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