Lewis Hamilton - No more Mr Nice Guy?

[Slyboogy]

Unfortunately in this modern cut and thrust world one seems to be only as good (or bad) as ones most recent statement. Until very recently Lewis only had good words for everyone in his team. I think this is the first time he's actually criticised them - at least in public (don't know about privately) but I think many people have criticised McLaren for exactly the same reasons that lay behind his outburst. Sometimes you just have to rock the boat to shake off some flotsam.

"Who's call was it to bring me in? Frickin' terrible idea" also last year when he had a tantrum when the team told him to bring the car home safely when had brake issues.

Was it really a terrible idea? No...it was the second race of the non-refuelling era, they Red Bull and Mercedes made a mistake going on to two stops, a lesson that the whole grid learned. Splitting the strategy was the best thing to do, since Jenson was in the lead, it was Hamilton brought in...

 

[Brogan]

A few comments in four and a half years.
I don't really want to be seen to be defending Hamilton but that's hardly a crime.

All of the drivers have criticised their teams at some point.
Some more than others.

 

[Cookinflatsix]

Now this is a great point...

In my opinion a driver has no right to moan, these mechanics and pit crews work there asses off for months, more hours in a day than the driver, more hours a week, more hours in a whole year. They get less credit than the driver and the management team. These are the guys that make a difference, these guys don't live like celebreties, these guys don't be-rate the driver when the driver bins it and gives them more sleepless nights.

To be-rate another team member that just works as hard as you maybe even more is a ridiculous thing to do.

You should encourage them, not come out saying things to make them look bad, did Vettel ever come out saying anything last year when he had so many failures? No...he encouraged the team and says this happens

Same with Hakkinen, Schumacher and Raikkonen.

Schumacher is the master of commandeering a team and exploiting it's human resources, Hakkinen and Raikkonen less so and both ended up leaving F1 to avoid this reality

We even heard from Brundle recently, that Vettel is 'no angel' behind closed doors, basically confirming this reality

I am not saying berate lowly workers paid minimum wage

I am saying lead your crew by a combination of stick and carrot, they are there to give you a car so you can win for the teams benefit, not you are there as a part of their efforts to win something

Lewis' situation might be unique in that his team have known him since he was a dependent young racer, this needs to be rudely corrected

Could explain Buttons apparent better luck with his support crew, they see him as a WC come to drive their car and not a kid that they at helping out

Either Lewis moves to a new team (plays the game) or he dominates his lower paid hard working crew

Starting with a catalyst like this weekend

 

[Fenderman]

Either Lewis moves or he dominates his lower paid hard working crew

I think he needs to assert himself in a constructive fashion and I think he can do that if his self belief on track transfers to the garage. I'm not sure "domination" is the right term but certainly he needs to adopt an attitude of authority and lead his side of the garage. If this requires a firmer hand here and there he should be allowed the right to exercise that as well.

 

[Cookinflatsix]

I think he needs to assert himself in a constructive fashion and I think he can do that if his self belief on track transfers to the garage. I'm not sure "domination" is the right term but certainly he needs to adopt an attitude of authority and lead his side of the garage. If this requires a firmer hand here and there he should be allowed the right to exercise that as well.

Ok, the term domination might be not best in this situation semantically

However the point remains that he must regard the team, it's workers and resources as a means to his end of winning multiple drives WC
He must have them committing their expertise to his vision and aims and not theirs

Yes F1 is a team sport, but racing can be a lone wolf alpha male gladiatorial occupation and so it's a constant struggle for balance between the two.

I think that Lewis' case is exceptional due to the length of time and the nurture at Mclaren.

When Alonsos crew contact him on radio they can be heard to almost be afraid of his reaction

Lewis' crew on the radio still treat him like a probational first jobber driver

Subjugate maybe is the word more appropriate here

 

[no-FIAt-please]

Ok, the term domination might be not best in this situation semantically

However the point remains that he must regard the team, it's workers and resources as a means to his end of winning multiple drives WC
He must have them committing their expertise to his vision and aims and not theirs

Yes F1 is a team sport, but racing can be a lone wolf alpha male gladiatorial occupation and so it's a constant struggle for balance between the two.

I think that Lewis' case is exceptional due to the length of time and the nurture at Mclaren.

When Alonsos crew contact him on radio they can be heard to almost be afraid of his reaction

Lewis' crew on the radio still treat him like a probational first jobber driver

Subjugate maybe is the word more appropriate here

What on earth are you talking about!? When has Alonso's crew been scared to radio in?

And let's not make this another Alonso/Hamilton article...

 

[Sakari]

A few comments in four and a half years.
I don't really want to be seen to be defending Hamilton but that's hardly a crime.

All of the drivers have criticised their teams at some point.
Some more than others.

We're so ****ing shit, it's unbelievable.

http://jalopnik.com/5806620/the-ten...en-said-in-his-nascar-nationwide-series-debut

 

[Cookinflatsix]

What on earth are you talking about!? When has Alonso's crew been scared to radio in?

And let's not make this another Alonso/Hamilton article...

A bit hard to make a comment about a drivers radio etiquette relative to others without actually referencing another driver

He who should not be named happens to be the leading proponent in this approach

 

[The Pits]

I think that this whole dynamoc requires very careful management.

"No more Mr nice guy" has destructive connutations, which would not improve the situation necessarily.

I am absolutely for a driver being a motivator, and a driving force in strategy decisions etc, however, as has already been stated, a driver cannot operate without the team.

McLaren need to look at their strategy creation, and the drivers should get heavily involved, however, pushing too hard is only likely to alienate the people who can have a massive say in the outcome of your race.

 

[snowy]

Lewis did not criticise his pit crew! At one point during an interview he stated that he came in for a pitstop and there was no one there. It was simply a statement of fact, he didn't single out the pitcrew or the guys on the pit wall.

 

[snowy]

When asked what happened with the pitstop Lewis said:

They said box to overtake, I came in and there was no one there. As simple as that.

He said nothing else about the team after that. However he had just previously praised his team for the great job they had done getting him sorted for the restart.

Please show me one quote where he comes out and roundly criticised the team, pit crew, anyone other than Massa, Maldonado and the Stewards (who all earned it) this Monaco weekend.

 

[ecclestoned]

Like your post but one bone of contention, perhaps. Lewis has demonstrated on many occasion that he can race wheel to wheel and give best to the other guy when necessary to live to fight another day. His duel with Michael on Sunday was a further demonstration of this when he allowed space enough for MS to complete his passes and this was reciprocated by MS later on. It was precisely this that he was signally unhappy about in his duel with Massa and Maldonado since in one case his oppponent should know better and in the other his opponent is inexperienced. To suggest that he doesn't appreciate the value of moving out of the way is, well a little off beam.

Oh Fenderman ,I wasn't trying to offend your man.
Not for his driving anyway.Just love to watch the guy on track.He embodies exactly what I'm watching these races for .
No,I wasn't suggesting he doesn't appreciate the value of moving/staying out of the way,and yes,the Schumacher move was a good example he knows when and why to stay put,since it was on the very first lap and MS was already next to him before the hair pin.Cutting in there and then could have cost him dearly,even before the race had truly started.Good thinking.
I don't want to get involved into the "yes but.." debate about where he did make moves and the penalties he got.
He did what I wanted to see him do,try to pass other cars.
But I'm really fed up with hearing that one race he's convinced his engineers he has to save tyres,and the other his engineers convinced him to come out late to, euhm...save tyres.That some drivers are purposely blocking him on track,stewards are singling him out,he was "boxed" too early,too late,his car is not as good as the Red Bull,he would also win with it,etc..
It's ok to think that,but don't say it ,leave that to the fanboys on 606 or wherever.
For me,his talking of late is in stark contrast with his racing abilities,and I don't like that.

 

[snowy]

Lewis was asked a series of questions, a number of them were leading questions and he answered them. He did not criticise his engineers, he was simply lamenting the decision, etc etc.

 

[Fenderman]

Oh Fenderman ,I wasn't trying to offend your man....

He's a 'Brother' but he's not my man. I would defend anyone else in the same or a similar situation. We're talking about him in the way that we are since he is the subject of this thread. Nothing more, nothing less. Thinking about it, I'm not sure he would be particularly offended either.

 

[ecclestoned]

He's a 'Brother' but he's not my man. I would defend anyone else in the same or a similar situation. We're talking about him in the way that we are since he is the subject of this thread. Nothing more, nothing less. Thinking about it, I'm not sure he would be particularly offended either.

Just wrote that because I thought it rhymed a bit and sounded ok.
Sorry 'Brother'

 

[Quintessentially]

Hamilton is a world champion and the formula at McLaren is generally a winning one when they have the car. I don’t think one bad weekend should suddenly warrant a major overhaul in his thinking. Let’s not forget the more experienced Alonso effectively threw away the championship last year due to a strategic error from the team. These things happen although McLaren don’t appear to appreciate that the margins for error this year are tight and a gambling on one lap in Q3 at Monaco is not acceptable. You need that banker lap at street circuits without a doubt. The thing with Hamilton is he doesn’t feel the need to gamble or ‘over think’ as he has great belief in his ability. Unfortunately this sometimes results in him placing a huge amount of trust in his team who for the most part can see the bigger picture. Contrast this with Jenson who realises that all things equal he is not the fastest and has to rely on external factors to close any performance deficit to the top guys. I also think Vettel is the most ‘babysitted’ out of the top drivers when you listen to some of his radio convos yet he’s running away with the championship. I mean he was put on the wrong tyres at Monaco and this was a major factor in him winning the race (and this was a team call) How about Jenson? It could be argued he would’ve won the race had he taken control of his strategy, something the pundits keep telling us he’s very good at. All in al Hamilton doesn’t need to alter his approach by much.

 

[The Enforcer]

All in al Hamilton doesn’t need to alter his approach by much.

I think that's a very key point, all these guys (or most anyway) are performing at such a high level that the difference between outright success and frustration is very small.

Lewis needs to do exactly that, make small adjustments to his approach, mindset and interaction with the team and it could well make the difference.

 

[RevMaxPower]

Beware the red mist Mr H...

 

[johnnoble1990]

Just reading an article here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2011/may/30/lewis-hamilton-monaco-grand-prix-f1

He was asked to retire by his team and refused.
That was probably just his frustration boiling over at that point but it was a damn good call

Maybe now he'll start to make more decisions on his own, instead of blindly doing what the team ask?

Wow. I think this has been missed by a lot of people, but how significant is that. Asked to retire and didn't? Never heard of that before.

 

[Slyboogy]

Well they did clear the space in the garage for him, he would have got black flagged if he continued, luckily for him and McLaren the safety car was out, and then 2 laps later red flagged.

If that rear wing came off during those laps, I am sure McLaren would have got the blame for not bringing him in, rather than Lewis himself.

We were told in commentray that he would get a black and orange flag, which I am not sure means to come in for repairs, but there was no way they would have repaired that in time as we saw that it took them 5 minutes, which is effectively 3-4 laps around Monaco.