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]

No different to how much Vettel is being paid by Ferrari, or Alonso is being paid by McLaren.

Indeed not. All these numbers are, as you say,quite ludicrous.

 

[cider_and_toast]

If teams have the money to pay it then the drivers will have the nerve to ask for it and, if they're good enough they'll get it.

But let's not forget that the costs of running an F1 team are way to high. (quote from 'insert team managers name here')

 

[siffert_fan]

It never ceases to amaze me how much things have changed over the years as far as driver remuneration goes. Jim Clark, the greatest driver I have ever seen, in an era when your odds of dying in a race car were roughly 50%, was planning on going back to the family sheep ranch after his driving days were over. Drivers today expect to live in Monte Carlo and hang out with the rich and famous and generally live the life of a rock star.

 

[cider_and_toast]

Didn't Jim Clark move to Bermuda to avoid having to pay too much tax ??

 

[siffert_fan]

I have no idea. But the fact is, he couldn't aspire to anything approaching the post-driving lifestyle that so many of today's drivers consider the norm.

 

[cider_and_toast]

Having just checked, Jim Clark moved to Pembroke Bermuda to reduce the amount of Tax he was paying. It even says 'and of Pembroke, Bermuda', on his grave stone.

You are right though, I wouldn't imagine any driver would want to retire to a sheep farm. That said, it is a different world these days. Even mega star F1 drivers such as Jim Clark could walk down the road almost un-noticed in the 1960's. Watch what would happen if Vettel or Hamilton tried to do that these days. TV has turned F1 drivers in to multi millionare global brands in ways that Jim Clark, Dan Gurney and all, could never imagine.

 

[siffert_fan]

It isn't limited to F1 either. Virtually all sports pay ridiculous amounts of money today, because they have become more "entertainment" than "sport". Michael Jordon became a household name with unspeakable wealth by playing the extremely low-risk game of basketball.

It really is strange what society has come to value so highly.

 

[cider_and_toast]

I don't think it's what society values it's what business values in order to make money.

Sport started off as a way of proving who had the best warriors or used to train the best warriors. Then it became a source of national pride. In the case of motorsport it's origins have always been about showing off the best a car maker can produce to show off their technical no-how.

Then, someone found a way to make a shit load of money on top of all of that. Now we have sportsmen who only give interview if you mention it's in their role as a brand ambassador for "whatzit and co", Money, Money, Money...... It's all about the Money.

 

[Il_leone]

Hamilton is worth every penny he gets because of his potential marketing value he will bring to the team... don't be surprised we will see him in a spate of Mercedes and Mercedes' sponsor adds then to increase the revenue and profile of the brand

Michael Jordan is worth what he is because Nike and all other brands so the money that could be made by using him ditto with David Beckham

 

[cider_and_toast]

http://www1.skysports.com/f1/news/1...nt-know-when-new-mercedes-deal-will-be-signed

I'm not sure what to make of this story but when Hamilton says he's representing himself and then describes reading an 80 page contract as a pain in the backside because it's full of lawyer jargon, you have to hope he's got some sort of legal representation at least.

Apparently the contract has hit another snag and he's not sure when it will be signed. While you could buy the standard "waiting until the end of the season because I'm concentrating on the championship" line, we also had the "I've not been around to sort anything out over the winter because I went on holiday" thing. I'm sure a deal will be done in the end but I'm guessing he may think about not doing it all himself next time.

 

[Lewywo4]

I can't imagine Lewis not seeking any form of counsel from a lawyer, regarding a 80 page contract.

 

[Titch]

Let's get this straight, LH is driving for Mercedes without a current contract ?

An interesting situation.

 

[Bill Boddy]

No, he has a contract which will run until the end of this season.

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/116536

"Hamilton's current contract only runs until the end of 2015."

 

[cider_and_toast]

Not quite Titch, he has this season to go with Mercedes on his current contract but hasn't yet managed to sort out a new contract after that. Don't worry, he won't be going anywhere this season.

 

[RasputinLives]

Is he keeping his options open after Merc has been shown not to be the super dominant team it was thought to be?

An F1 drivers career results often hinge on their ability to be able to judge when teams are in the ascendence and when they are about to go over their peak. Hamilton's move from Mclaren to Merc was one such shrude move. Vettel's move to Ferrari also looks like a good one. Alonso's doesn't.

Is it possible that with Lewis aware Kimi's contract is up at the end of the year, and with Ferrari previously having shown an interest in him, Lewis is just biding his time for a little bit to see whether the Ferrari is on its way up?

 

[cider_and_toast]

Maybe.

But Hamilton and Vettel in the same team ?? Ouch. If that were to be the case, Hamilton better start learning Italian fast.

 

[Hamberg]

He's going to be in a Ferrari next year.

he's not signed it though has he?

He'll get his third WDC with Merc but he has said it's everyone's dream to drive for Ferrari.

My prediction.

 

[RasputinLives]

Didn't he just buy a Ferrari road car? Dum dum dum!

*puts on tinfoil hat*

 

[FB]

OMG he's got a Shelby Cobra as well. Maybe he's going to drive for errm, Shelby...

 

[RasputinLives]

Is that a can of Red Bull in the car? Dum dum dum!