The Artist.....
Champion Elect
I was thinking to myself this morning about Hamilton’s debut season in F1. He arrived at a top team, finished on the podium for his first 10(?) races, and failed to win the championship by a hair’s breadth...
Other top drivers had taken some time to settle in to F1... if you watch back Murray Walker’s commentaries, he would often say of a driver who’s beginning to perform well “he’s only in his 2nd season of GP racing” - and historically it took a long time to settle in to F1.
So why was Hamilton so successful straight away? Obviously talent comes into it, but he also had an extensive testing programme before he arrived, and the switch from Michelin to Bridgestone tyres probably didn’t do him any harm.
But could anyone do the same now? The biggest talents (Verstappen and Leclerc) made an impact in their first season, but nowhere near as impactful as the 2007 season...
Other top drivers had taken some time to settle in to F1... if you watch back Murray Walker’s commentaries, he would often say of a driver who’s beginning to perform well “he’s only in his 2nd season of GP racing” - and historically it took a long time to settle in to F1.
So why was Hamilton so successful straight away? Obviously talent comes into it, but he also had an extensive testing programme before he arrived, and the switch from Michelin to Bridgestone tyres probably didn’t do him any harm.
But could anyone do the same now? The biggest talents (Verstappen and Leclerc) made an impact in their first season, but nowhere near as impactful as the 2007 season...