Lewis Hamilton - No more Mr Nice Guy?

[Slyboogy]

No need for an apology, quite funny I was going to reply back with something but I am afraid Brogan would have intervened

I am not getting upset, I do seem to find a lot of double standards especially when it comes to Lewis, this has been very rational indeed credit must go to these clip the apex dudes and dudettes

I am not going to talk about the latter, as I have done that argument to death (Maldonado one is questionable I do agree there).

(also I tried to send a message to you, as an apology, but I couldn't )

 

[Cookinflatsix]

Lewis is a winner

Winners expect to win and don't give up, they act as winners and by so doing influence others around them who automatically assume their own pre determined destiny

Massa should not have closed the door, he did, Maldonado likewise, big deal, out of a 100 throws of that dice, most drivers will so no problem there for me

He did not come in when asked to retire, again why retire if here is a chance of circumstances to help, over a 100 goes this is a winners approach again, as we saw anything can happen.

It reminds me of when a crane pulled him out of the gravel and back in the race in 2007, again a winning approach, many other drivers would have taken the steering wheel off, he didn't, and forced his luck

I think he is starting to show more of a forceful and willfull side to go with this winner mentality, maybe as a result of the realisation of the clock ticking

I think last weekend was a good show of controlled and calculated probing of boundaries

No more Mr good Guy doesn't mean hello Mr bad Guy, it means hello Mr Guy in a hurry, on a mission and taking fewer prisoners

Personally when I think about other legendary drivers and the intensity of their detractors at the time, I am happy for how Lewis' impression in posterity is shaping up

For example; Senna, Schumacher, Hunt, Mansell, even Kimi

I would wager that Clark and Fangio had lots of detractors in their day who are now lost in a fog of nostalgia

So go on Lewis, you will be hated by feeble minds anyway, embrace the hatred (admiration), speak your mind, it doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things, play the race card, question religion, talk about global warming, the icecaps

You are the man and this is your time (maybe along with Seb)!

 

[The Artist.....]

Lewis is a winner
Massa should not have closed the door, he did, Maldonado likewise, big deal, out of a 100 throws of that dice, most drivers will so no problem there for me

Why not? That's what winners do isn't it? Defend position? Certainly, I'd prefer drivers show that they can't be intimidated by another driver throwing one up the inside than meekly giving up position!

Massa closed the door as the only other option was for him to drive into the barriers and stop!

Now at least Hamilton knows that Massa and Maldonado won't just roll over when challenged, and will stand up to him! The lesson that Senna had was that he wasn't afraid to hit people when trying to overtake... Similarly, other drivers need to make it clear that they are willing to hit someone if they're trying to force their way past!

 

[Cookinflatsix]

I hear you Artist

There can only be one winner though

 

[Quintessentially]

Massa closed the door as the only other option was for him to drive into the barriers and stop!

If we are talking about the incident during the race, Massa had more than two options available to him. He could've followed the same racing line as the cars ahead including Webber's and Alguersuari's. As Brundle wrote in his column "Massa did turn into the hairpin very early but could well argue that he was aiming inside the wide Red Bull of Mark Webber who was on his nose. It's also arguable that Massa was too late in defending".
It is a measure of Hamilton's determination behind the wheel that he still pursued him into the tunnel and effectively forced him onto the marbles. Don't buy any mechanical issue Massa concocted after the race. Hamilton caught him unaware and it was Massa decision to race side by side at high speed knowing very well that the road he was on was slippery. He was heading for the barriers mechanical issue or not.

All the top drivers have a ruthless streak to them and maybe this is a side Hamilton hasn't shown too much outside of the cockpit. These days if you are not seen to be complaining to the point of politicking you are missing out.

 

[RickD]

Something else no one has mentioned as far as the Massa incident goes: Have McLaren strenthened their suspension struts this year? After Monza, everyone was saying how weak their suspension was due to how easily Lewis right front struts broke and how much tougher the Ferrari ones were, have we now seen the work they have done to change this, it was an essential upgrade as they thought they would be fighting with Ferrari and massa much more this year, therefore making it essential work due to Massas tendancy to not give room to any rivals?

 

[jez101]

As the saying goes, "don't get mad, get even". I think Lewis might benefit from channelling some of his fire and commitment into, cooler, more rational thinking. I don't specifically mean he should hold back attempting to pass, more that he should take the lead when his engineers suggest something stupid (like doing only one run in Q3 at Monaco).

With Vettel, you get the feeling that he is in charge. With the McLarens it does seem like the drivers seem to follow the engieers a bit more perhaps?

 

[Quintessentially]

Vettel is extracting the right performance from his car, driving with precision and not making many mistakes. This is why he’s winning races not because of any superior leadership qualities of his close competitors, otherwise he would’ve won China. We’ll also never know what would’ve happened at Monaco without the red flag intervention.

 

[ecclestoned]

The question whether Lewis is still a nice guy engendered a lot of critcism on the McLaren team and strategy.
I respectfully disagree.
For me McLaren were spot on with their strategies!

First they brought out Button,who outqualified himself really,by splitting up the Bulls.Mission accomplished there.
Then they brought out Hamilton,with 5 min.left on the clock,enough to do a flyer and 2 if needed.

I don't believe it was a coincidence that Lewis came out exactly when Vettel was finishing his flyer.

This was timed to the second so that he would come out just behind the man to beat for pole,trying to surprise the complete Red Bull camp in the process,counting on it that coming out late would leave them as little time to respond as possible.

Lewis wasn't interested in a banker lap ,he wanted to take pole and pole only,cost what cost.

The Macca boys released him from the pit at the time they thought he could best achieve that goal.

He heard from the pit in S1 his first attempt wouldn't cut it(raised his hand at Massa,feeling disappointed about his first run),slowed down for not losing too much rubber,and got ready to have another go at it .

The whole plan"grinded to a halt" with the Perez crash.
Pity(for both).

Actually,I also think McLarens' strategy should be applauded for pulling Button in first for his first pit stop.
They were trying to outsmart RB and Ferrari by undercutting them(like Red Bull had performed so brilliantly in Spain on them and also Ferrari)

Even if Vettel's stop would have been "normal" it would have been pretty close(probably just) to come out in front of Button.
Ted Kravitz summed it up perfectly:"Jenson thought he could go quicker,so they pitted him in that lovely empty bit of track that you saw when he rejoined."
This must have been the first time this year we saw the Red Bull pit panic for getting a spoonful of their own medicine by McLaren. Promising to say the least.


No, I believe there's a big chess game going on between those pit teams.
For now, RB have taken a few more pawns,but McLaren's king(Lewis)is still standing and is still well protected.