Current Sir Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton MBE

A place to put all the posts from all the other threads primarily but love him or hate him, and even for the indifferent amongst us this is the place to discuss the marmite that is Lewis Hamilton, to learn a thing or two about his rise, talk about those controversial, genius or mad moments and something that i am bemused by, the recent articles that suggest something quite different to my perception of what's going on. Any experiences of meeting LH?

Brundle had to write a Lewis Hamilton article recently and in my tweets (which were probably ignored) I asked him to talk about LH the driver not LH the personality. It seems that you can't have one without the other.

So as a starter for ten, here is a fairly recent LH article. Posts should not be limited to this link but it can get some discussion going. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/formula_one/13755883.stm

The only banned topic as it is clearly ridiculous involves these four things "Glock" "2008" "Brazil" "conspiracy"
 
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McLaren will be fine as far as delivering a competitive car goes. They have arguably the best aero department in F1 and whether they get it right or not at the start of the season, they always find their way back to the top or thereabouts. I get the feeling negotiations with Lewis started with bluff and counter bluff and as I said before they probably underestimated his options. Ron said in an interview on Radio 5 that it was down to whether McLaren wanted to retain his services or not but it was an open secret that Hamilton’s management team were openly and aggressively pursuing other teams to broaden his options. Interesting to see that this has all come out before Schumi announces his intentions and personally I think it shows just how desperate (probably not the appropriate word) are for his services. It’s the right age to move for Lewis and he could easily end up back at McLaren in a few years.
 
Brogan said:
I have said that many times now.

It will be a case of wrong car, wrong time, too many issues, etc.
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I hate to say it, but Hamilton's career reminds me a little of Paul Gascoigne (Sorry to use a footballing analogy)... He burst onto the footballing scene as a breath of fresh air - and then set the world alight... He got to the world cup in 1990, and made the semi finals, but then bad advice, a celebrity entourage, and bad luck meant that the only other international tournament he played in was Euro '96, and never played in the world cup again....

I hope this is not a long-term comparison, for LH's sake.....
 
Brogan said:
I have said that many times now.
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And its premature every time.

Barring tragedy, Lewis Hamilton still has many years of what can be considered 'his prime'.

Button's best driving has come after 30, as well as a bevy of other past Champions. Not sure why anyone would want to close the book on Lewis at age 27.

This move takes a lot of courage. I can see it paying off in the long run.
 
Of the most recent WDC.....Alonso, Raikkonen & Hamilton arguably won in cars that were not the most dominant.
Button & Vettel had dominant machinery.
So if Ross can produce another magic car, it will be a bonus but if not LH will get the best out of it.........
McLaren ok,if they can get JB on the front row...bearing in mind that they will no longer be able to alter LH clutch/launch etc......
I was hoping Martin Whitmarsh would retire & LH would stay at Macca.
Someone will be happy....FA :DROFL
 
Brogan said:
To put a different slant on things, a lot of people have criticised Hamilton for stepping straight into a race winning car and they point to other drivers who had to put the hard work in with other teams which weren't front runners before getting the chance to win races.

Surely those people should therefore be lauding Hamilton for considering switching to a team which is currently solidly mid field and with no guarantee at all that they will improve significantly over the next few seasons?

If he does go it will be a brave move and may, just may silence some of his detractors.
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I got that wrong too.


Somehow I doubt it though.
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I got that right though.
 
Simple fact is that if McLaren couldn't get close to winning the WDC this year with the worst Redbull for years and a pretty awful Ferrari for the start of the season, not to mention a range of midtable teams taking points off the big players, there's not a lot of hope of it happening next year or the year after. They're a great team who are always there or there abouts, but they've won one WDC in the last 10 years, 3 in the last 20. The idea that by moving to Mercedes Lewis is throwing away mutliple WDC's is just not backed up. It might have been hoped for, but the team performance this year in particular suggests its unlikely. Added to that. not only is everything to be turned upside down in the next few years with regulation changes Mercedes arguably have one of the very best team bosses in F1, McLaren certainly don't.

If I was Lewis I would have left too, things clearly haven't been working at McLaren, neither the relationship nor the performance. Fernando has Ferrari sown up, Redbull have Seb (at least for now) and both have their teams complete support which unquestionably gives them a racing advantage. Lewis might well be, infact is, a hard driver to accommodate in your team, and he's not faultless in that, but that's where a strong, and the right, team boss is needed. There have been plenty of difficult-to-have-in-your-team drivers that have been successful because they have the right team manager who knows how to get the best from them. Whitmarsh just isn't that person, he may work out ok for some (yet to really be seen) but clearly not for Lewis and would be the same for many other past and present drivers.
 
I was one who mentioned Hamilton lucking into a fabulous car, Mansell's words not mine. I never meant it in a critical sense, I was simply pointing out it's a hell of a lot easier starting your career in a great car than a poor one. It will be fascinating to watch him grow as a driver which I have no doubt he will. I for one believe he will become much stronger and will mature in every way, though I would expect it to take at least a full season for him to settle in. I'm looking forward to next year even more now. :)
 
Well done son... I wish you all the best with your new endeavour at the Silver Arrows...

I also think it is an excellent move for the sport in general... you will have a spread of champions...some paired with old hands... some paired with young chargers:

WDC - Alonso - Ferrari
WDC - Vettel - RBR
WDC - Button - McLaren
WDC - Raikonnen - Lotus
WDC - Hamilton - Mercedes
WDC - Schumacher - Sauber (ok.... maybe...we shall see...)

Who is not to say that Lewis in this years Mercedes couldn't be doing a job similar to Alonso with the early iteration Ferrari and be pulling them forward to the front of the pack...

And at 27... if the next 3yrs ends up a write off in terms of title challenges... all things being equal he will be a formidable driver at 30 hungry for more success... more experienced away from the creche at McLaren... motivated by these failures...

:1st::1st::1st::thumbsup:
 
But McLaren is (almost) always a front running team. Mercedes... Not so much. They haven't improved one bit yet since 2010. Sure they've won a race, but that was a one off. Not sure if Hamilton will be getting any race wins next year.
 

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