[sjwright]

Hammond is correct, however the term "slowly" in an F1 car would refer to speeds like 60–100 km/h. Note that the pit lane speed limit is generally 100 km/h during a race. I picked 40 km/h as it's a speed which even the hardest rubber tyre would not present difficulty retaining traction even without the aid of any downforce.

And indeed, if my memory of Hammond's experience is anything to go by, the F1 engine may not even be able to handle being driven exclusively at such slow speeds without stalling out.