
Sir Jackie Stewart feels Lewis Hamilton may need to introduce a dose of "valium" into his driving to avoid the errors currently being made.
Stewart is referring to the fact Hamilton needs to be calmer in the cockpit of his McLaren due to his sometimes aggressive style.
The 23-year-old can often be witnessed throwing his car into the corners, occasionally with smoke streaming from his tyres due to late braking.
Former three-times world champion Stewart likens it to riding "a wild bull", one Hamilton ideally needs to tame if he is to become Formula One world champion.
Mistakes have certainly proven costly for Hamilton in his last two grands prix from which he has failed to take any points, so losing the lead he once held after his storming victory in Monaco.
Hamilton certainly took his eye off the ball in Canada when he ran into the back of Kimi Raikkonen's Ferrari in the pit lane.
According to Stewart, that was partly the fault of his team due to a lack of communication, incurring a 10-place grid penalty for the subsequent race in France.
Starting from 13th on the grid, Hamilton's exuberance as he quickly sought to make his way through the field again cost him dear.
An apparently illegal pass on Toro Rosso's Sebastian Vettel led to the stewards imposing a drive-through penalty on Hamilton, and with it went the chance of claiming any points.
As far as Stewart is concerned, heading into the British Grand Prix at Silverstone this weekend, Hamilton should take a leaf out of the book of Alain Prost.
The Frenchman was nicknamed 'The Professor' for his cool, calm, calculated driving manner, earning him four world titles into the bargain.
"In my opinion, Prost was one of the greatest drivers of all time because he made a car work for him, and in many respects he made it work for (Ayrton) Senna," assessed Stewart.
"I don't think Senna would have won as much if Prost had not been at McLaren because what he did for the development of the vehicle allowed Senna to become a much more liberated driver.
"Senna was probably above Prost, but Prost made it happen. You only have to look at the on-board footage.
"If you watch the steering wheel, it hardly moved. There were no big 'oh damn' movements.
"Prost drove the car to mechanical perfection, and although Senna took that to a higher level, there was over-inducement.
"Yet with Senna he had the reactions and dynamic feel to still be able to control what I would describe as a wild bull.
"Prost was very seldom on the back of a wild bull, and that's why he was so good and delivered so much success.
"In my particular case, I did not want to be on the back of a wild bull either. It gave me no thrill at all. It was just aggravation.
"I needed to give the bull valium to calm it down, so I didn't get that many pole positions in my career.
"It wasn't important, and it didn't do me any harm because the car was driveable in the race.
"As for Lewis, it may take him a few more years before he knows how to administer the valium, but that will come with experience.
"If he can find somebody to go through that experience with him, then he might be able to administer the valium a year earlier."
Recently there has been talk of Hamilton maybe requiring a coach of some description to keep him composed at times like those witnessed in Canada and France, and Bahrain earlier in the year, to ensure he ultimately delivers.
As Stewart rightly points out "to finish first, first you have to finish" - a comment Hamilton would be wise to heed at Silverstone and beyond.
"The reason why Ken Tyrrell (former team boss) got as much out of me as he did was because we had a very close relationship, and boy did I listen," added Stewart.
"It was commonsense, and most of what he said was right. If I felt he was wrong then we would argue about it and work it out.
"Now I've been very supportive of Lewis, but also I've been quite critical.
"I know in 36 to 48 months he is going to look at things and say 'Why did I not think about that? Why did I not do that?'
"But he is going to know so much more just because from experience you gain knowledge."


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