DHL Fastest Lap Award presented to Lewis Hamilton

DHL, the official logistics partner of Formula One®, once again presented the Fastest Lap Award for this year’s Formula One season at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Lewis Hamilton was honored as the driver with the highest number of fastest laps over the 20 Grand Prix races this year.

Lewis Hamilton was not only the overall champion of this year’s Formula One season; he was also the driver with the fastest lap in the most races. This is the third time Hamilton has been awarded the DHL Fastest Lap Award, having previously won the accolade in both 2014 and 2015. The title passes to Hamilton from last year’s winner, Nico Rosberg, so that Hamilton is now tied in the overall rankings with previous record holder Sebastian Vettel.

“It is never our specific target to set fastest lap in a race – so when we do, it is a sign of how quick our car has been in race conditions,” said Lewis Hamilton. “It also shows the consistency of the Pirelli tyres this year. These cars are the fastest we have ever driven in F1 – and it has been cool to set a few all-time lap records. They have been a challenge for us drivers to master, more physical to drive, and that is how it should be.”

Since 2007, the DHL Fastest Lap Award has been presented to the driver with the highest number of fastest laps in a Formula One season. However, the 2017 season was especially exciting due to various rule changes, one of which being that wider tires and cars were permitted in the races for the first time this year. As a result of the new dimensions, the contact surface of the tires was increased by 25 percent. Wider front and rear wings created more downforce and thus enabled higher speeds. Drivers and teams were able to achieve even faster lap times than in previous years, with new lap records set on no less than eleven races during the season.

DHL handles the “race behind the races”

“Formula 1 races demand exceptional teamwork and the utmost concentration from everyone involved as just fractions of a second can determine victory or defeat,” says Nour Suliman, CEO DHL Express Middle East and North Africa. “This passion is the pivotal link in our longstanding, successful partnership: We love what we do and we always want to deliver top performance.”

Formula 1 races demand exceptional teamwork and the utmost concentration from everyone involved

Nour Suliman

At the 2017 FIA Formula 1 World Championship, 25 of the best race drivers in the world once again achieved outstanding results over the course of 20 races, held in just nine months across five continents. This tight schedule is the “race behind the races” for the experienced global motorsport specialists at DHL. Planning and implementation are orchestrated down to the last detail thanks in no small part to the team’s enormous dedication and expertise, ensuring  that the behind-the-scenes racing world stays on the right track.

DHL is the official logistics partner of Formula One and, for more than 35 years, has been playing a key role in ensuring that the race cars, spare parts, marketing gear and hospitality equipment are delivered on time for the cars to take up their positions on the grid as the championship moves from one international circuit to the next – a process that entails the transport of approximately 2,000 metric tons of freight each year. In order to make this happen, DHL relies first and foremost on environmentally efficient multi-modal transport solutions via land and ocean freight. The logistics partnership also provides the company with excellent opportunities to further develop special logistics solutions that benefit customers in affiliated motorsport segments, the automotive industry and other sectors further afield.

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