Current Lewis Hamilton

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"

 

[FB]

Probably the most exciting driver the come into F1 in the last 20 years.

 

[Porceliamone]

There was nothing ridiculous about Glock and Brazil 2000. He was on the wrong tyre, Lewis overtook him on the last corner and won the WDC. Any other underhand conspiracy/theory is utter poppycock in my mind - and these days I don't even like Lewis Hamilton ("the personality").

 

[Hamberg]

There was nothing ridiculous about Glock and Brazil 2000. He was on the wrong tyre, Lewis overtook him on the last corner and won the WDC. Any other underhand conspiracy/theory is utter poppycock in my mind - and these days I don't even like Lewis Hamilton ("the personality").

That's what I meant! I'll amend to make it clear.

 

[cider_and_toast]

Hamilton is like a brand new computer. He operates at a speed that the rest of us can only dream of, produces amazing displays of technical ablility and occasionaly for what seems like no reason at all, he'll crash.

Seriously though. A fantastic driver and certainly as I've posted elsewhere, it's been a breath of fresh air to have a hard charger like Hamilton in F1. He doesn't yet seem to be the finished article though. He needs to let some of Buttons relaxed attitude rub off on him and stop stressing himself out too often. He tends to let his mouth jump before he lets his brain get in to gear but hay the press enjoy him for that.

He has all the tools to take another world title or maybe more but he needs to keep it all together in mind and car.

 

[Cookinflatsix]

To a match a reigning WC in the same car as a rookie was remarkable, to beat him to second place is unprecedented

If the best yardstick to judge a driver by is his performance against proven quality team-mates then the fact that he beat Alonso to 2nd is corroborated by the fact that he has never ever being beaten by a team-mate in any series

ever

to beat 2 current Wc team-mates in his first 4 years are impeccable credentials that not a single other driver on the grid possesses now or ever

Some will of course point to mitigating factors for this near miraculous and historical achievement, however the fact that he remains unbeaten by the best of his generation in a car without a performance advantage (team-mates) is irrefutable and unattributable to luck.

Many have won the WC in the best car, or beaten their peers with an obvious material advantage, non that I know of remain unbeaten on level terms, I cannot think of a fairer measure of a driver bar sticking everyone in the same car

Senna was considered great partly because he was measured against Prost on a level playing field (Prost beat him twice on points). Some deny MS as a great because he had no competition to be measured against on a level field.

Great thread, and I hope to find some more astonishing observations to add as things move forward

 

[MCLS]

Hamilton is someone who doesn't (most of the time anyway) have that little voice in his head that tells him that doing that is a bad thing, and this is what makes him so popular and yet so controversial (look at Monaco this year), while he is prone to stupid mistakes on track, it's counterbalanced with some remarkable driving like we have seen at Silverstone in 2008, Spa last year, USA in 2007 and the list goes on. He could easily be a triple world champion by now, but he could easily still have 0 championships. The way he arrived in F1 in 2007 was astonishing and showed that F1 would be great in the post (and pre) Schumacher years and he certainly startled a certain F. Alonso and hence the internal problems began..... I for one really hope he stays at Mclaren and is a 1 team driver, particularly as he has been at the team (or part of it) since he was a small child and it's almost family to him.

 

[landogeorgelewis1]

I love him.

His win at all cost attitude is what i like to see from a driver. He's not the type of driver that would just hold on to a place for the hell of it he's a trier and a fighter. So what if he crashes out of races because of it, it the way he drives that makes me wish that alot more drivers on the grid would be like.

I really enjoyed seeing him keep Alonso on his toes in 2007 but for him to beat him aswell to the runners-up spot in 2007 was extrordinary.

I hope we see him at Mclaren for many years to come and hope that Whitmarsh and the team keep providing him with a winning car. TBH I hope when Button hangs his gloves up that we see Kubica in a Mclaren i'd love Lewis and Robert to go head to head at Macca.

 

[RayInTorontoCanada]

Justified Ron Dennis' choice as Juan Montoya's ultimate replacement and did enough in his rookie season to unhinge Alonso mentally, sending the Spaniard packing down the grid.

It's a matter of conjecture as to which of the two has progressed more since the end of 2007 but my money is on Hamilton.

I'm slightly dissappointed that he hasn't maximized his chances at a time when the McLaren has looked faster than the Red Bull in recent races and would have thought he'd be closer to Vettel in this years' points tally. Instead he now finds himself behind Button.

Hopefully Hamilton can get back in to the groove again and win some races soon.

Lewis has been in my Top 2 since 2009...and there's no reason to change that.

 

[Quintessentially]

He is still the biggest draw in F1 after 4years and one of the last of a dying breed of out and out racers. Deep down a genuinely nice guy despite the occasional arrogance. It's a shame a lot of his critics don't see this.

 

[MCLS]

I particularly admire that he never settles for what he's got and that he's always pushing for more, the big evidence for his is Monza 2009, a lot of people would have backed off and settled for third, but Hamilton kept on pushing and nearly caught Button but he crashed into the wall, but that's what makes him a racer, that constant effort to reach the next step.

 

[teabagyokel]

A lot of questions still need to be answered about Lewis Hamilton. He's at risk of being distracted from the job in hand and joining a celebrity bandwagon.

I sincerely hope those fears remain unanswered, because he is without doubt a wonderful driver. Performances such as those at Silverstone in 2008, Canada in 2010 and China in 2011 won him races but great performances like those at Turkey in 2008, Silverstone in 2010 and Barcelona in 2011 should also be mentioned.

No-one goes through a career in sport without a bad spell, it is the reaction which is important. I expect a Rory McIllroy style bounce back, rather than a downward spiral.

 

[Bill Boddy]

I particularly admire that he never settles for what he's got and that he's always pushing for more, the big evidence for his is Monza 2009, a lot of people would have backed off and settled for third, but Hamilton kept on pushing and nearly caught Button but he crashed into the wall, but that's what makes him a racer, that constant effort to reach the next step.

Almost any other driver would have scored 6 points from that position. Hamilton was very fortunate that he did not cost McLaren a lot of money by that accident, fortunately for them Ferrari abandoned the season, resulting in McLaren finishing 1 point ahead in the WCC.

The incident itself was just silly, Button had been holding him off comfortably, there was no way that Hamilton could both close the gap and overtake in the last lap, let alone in the last half lap.

 

[Sarinaide]

He is who he is and changing that will be like creating a plastic existance, that said he makes to many mistakes.

 

[teabagyokel]

He doesn't make that many mistakes though. He drives in a more risky manner than his competitors and makes few mistakes for his style. Canada and Monaco (2011) have largely been the exceptions, whatever the internet says.

No-one is under a brighter spotlight, and his mistakes are thus amplified in importance.

 

[Sarinaide]

He doesn't make that many mistakes though. He drives in a more risky manner than his competitors and makes few mistakes for his style. Canada and Monaco (2011) have largely been the exceptions, whatever the internet says.

No-one is under a brighter spotlight, and his mistakes are thus amplified in importance.

Maybe I should have phrased it as being caught out by the same mistakes, taking risks which the rewards are really disproportionate to loss. Seeing closing windows, but then again by doing that it is taking away from his driving style.

I think it is a case of let sleeping dogs lie and let him race.

 

[Hamberg]

Under the old scoring system I'd agree Sarinaide, losing two points to the race winner and coming second wasn't a big deal. Neither was losing 4 really. But 7 points is big. Last year because it was so close and went down to the wire and this year because SV is running away with it. He doesn't even need to turn up to a couple of races now.

So, if you take the sensible approach (such as Button maybe last year) then you will never rack up enough points. We've even seen a change in him this race, because if you don't go for it now, you're never gonna win. Sometimes it really pays off, sometimes it doesn't. At least with the go for it approach there is a chance.

 

[jez101]

Passionate. Brave. Quick. Volatile. Fragile?

I look at the way he is with his brother and see that deep down, he is a good man.

 

[Sarinaide]

Passionate. Brave. Quick. Volatile. Fragile?

I look at the way he is with his brother and see that deep down, he is a good man.

He probably is a good man but I tend to shy away from value judgements of this sort, they get messy and lead to subjective opinions. I think if it stays on his driving I think we all know that he is a great to watch driver with pro's and con's as all have.

 

[teabagyokel]

Last year because it was so close and went down to the wire and this year because SB is running away with it.

SB? I think not! But I agree that for McLaren/Hamilton, races must be won, because if not its likely that Vettel will win them.

Maybe I should have phrased it as being caught out by the same mistakes, taking risks which the rewards are really disproportionate to loss.

I dunno, the rewards are not insubstantial when he gets it right!