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"

 

[cider_and_toast]

It could be argued that that's a side effect of his public personality and not his principle aim.

In recent terms, Hamilton is a one off who seems to be able to combine the GQ, Movie Premier, Fashion icon, Pop Star girlfriend lifestyle while maintaining the level of focus on the track that results in wins and his second championship. That has not always been the case, certainly in mental application terms. I can't help thinking that ditching his old man and then his PR guru has led to his ability to manage himself without the conflict of 'wise advice' and PR.

It's no different in many respects to the playboy driver image of the mid 70's. While times have moved on from the chain smoking, hard drinking, never seen without a dolly bird type of driver, (See James Hunt), Hamilton can be seen as the modern equivalent. In that respect, compare Vettel with the relatively clean living and focuses Lauda and Rosberg with (as FB points out), Carlos Reuteman, neither of whom could be described as 'media friendly' and therefore not promoting F1 with the masses.

 

[Il_leone]

there was a time when F1 drivers was being accused of being too robotic and no personality. F1 is not just a sport it is a business and drivers are suppose to do their bit in helping make F1 appealing ( unless you're Kimi) .

Hamilton has been able to reach out to audiences that other driver's have not and seems to have a charisma that they don't Part of it is he is transparent and open about his opinions from a racer

 

[sushifiesta]

In recent terms, Hamilton is a one off who seems to be able to combine the GQ, Movie Premier, Fashion icon, Pop Star girlfriend lifestyle while maintaining the level of focus on the track that results in wins and his second championship. That has not always been the case, certainly in mental application terms.

I think there's an argument to say that Hamilton is now more mentally robust at race weekends because he has that lifestyle away from the track. At McLaren he had far more commitments with sponsors etc. and he always had to adhere to McLaren's clean cut image requirements. The combination of removing his dad from his management team and leaving McLaren means he's in charge of his life/career, before he was the kid in those relationships as he had spent all his childhood with his dad and McLaren.

At Mercedes he can be truer to himself (including all the celebrity lifestyle stuff), so he's not carrying as much baggage to the race weekends (can I say this, can I do that etc.).

 

[Il_leone]

Lewis has a way of appealing to the fans . He mentions about putting on a show and being able to race full attack. Even post race he mentions the fans for their support etc

Its these drivers that fans like and make F1 more appealing and not being all about the glitz and glamour. This is why they are universally loved around the world... Mansell had the sort of impact, Senna to a lesser extent

 

[cider_and_toast]

sushifiesta that's the sort of thing I was trying to say and I agree with you.

Il_leone Hamilton's commitment is surely to promotiing Mercedes and the Mercedes team? Granted and drivers actions will have an incidental effect on the sport as a whole but I don't think they are 'supposed to do their bit' in making it appealing it just happens as a part of being in the collective.

The line about Hamilton reaching out to audiences I'm sorry but.......

 

[Il_leone]

cider_and_toast Apart promoting Mercedes. It just seems that Lewis' personality is one fans love by speaking from the heart

Drivers are suppose to promote the sport although Bernie seems to think its for the elite although someone like Kimi said it aint his responsibility when his main focus is to deliver on the track

 

[cider_and_toast]

That's different from Hamilton reaching out to the fans in some 'Messiah' like way. Of course there are many qualities for people to admire about the bloke but none of that is deliberate, it's all a consequence of him being him and driving a race car bloody quickly. Ever since he seems to have been more him and less "McLaren-O-Tron" that freedom has seen his popularity grow.

That's not the issue. As far as the promotion of F1 as a whole goes, that is down to Ecclestone. The drivers don't have any specific commitment other than to not do anything to bring harm to their teams image which will in turn tarnish the sport. Remember when Schumacher bumped into Villeneuve, part of his punishment was to take part in an FIA road safety campaign. The fact that drivers have to be punished into promoting the FIA suggests that it's not their respnsibility to promote F1.

Other examples are the fact that drivers have to be sent out into a fenced cage and practically dragged in front of the press when all they want to do after a session is get on with the job of making the car go faster.

I agree with Ecclestone that Hamilton is a marketing mans dream come true but that is a bi-product of him being in the sport. As I said, in terms of current and indeed recent drivers he is a one off in that respect. Contrast his life style for example to Schumacher who went home to his wife most weekends when not racing.

 

[marksawatsky]

Lewis's fans are pretty dedicated and I suspect would follow him to any team he drove for, similar to how NASCAR drivers have their dedicated fans. I think this happens when fans are exposed to the drivers thoughts and personal lives and they feel like they know the driver personally. If you follow Lewis and Nico on Facebook and Twitter (like I do), you get to see everything that Lewis does, which is a lot of different stuff. Nico, on the other hand, seems to only live at the race track in his drivers suit, because there is nothing about his personal life or his real feelings. It doesn't matter to me if this is a conscious effort by Lewis to build the brand of Lewis, I feel like I know him and I like him. Other drivers could learn a lesson and build up a fan base.

 

[rufus_mcdufus]

I like Lewis for the way he drives, but he appears to be a bit of a nob off-track.

 

[Il_leone]

I thought Nelson Piquet SNr was an even bigger nob for some of the things he's said

 

[FB]

Although his comments about Nigel Mansell were spot on! Anyway, Lewis thread. I think my perception of Lewis is probably more down to an age thing. I dislike his necklaces and snap backs as much as I dislike Fernando's stupid sun glasses and Nico and Seb's awful bum fluff but when any of them are put behind the wheel of an F1 car they are mighty (apart from Nico).

 

[cider_and_toast]

bum fluff

 

[teabagyokel]

Other drivers could learn a lesson and build up a fan base.

They could, but I scarcely think that everyone prioritises the same thing. Rosberg has the same right to keep his personal life personal as anyone else, and he's far more open than Raikkonen, for example, who'll scarcely say more than four words (three if you don't count ones the BBC has to bleep). Raikkonen still has a fanbase though.

 

[downforce]

One more Pole and he will have more than Vettel. Would not have thought that in 2011/2013.

 

[Greenlantern101]

Lewis on Graham Norton in 35 mins BBC1. FYI.

 

[Dash Racing]

Raikkonen still has a fanbase though.

I'm one of them. He's the polar opposite of Lewis Hamilton when it comes to interviews. Lewis always comes across to me as full of himself and impressed by the sound of his own voice, I just can't seem to find it in myself to like him. Sorry Lewis, sorry Lewis fans.

 

[rufus_mcdufus]

Lewis comes across like many sportspeople. They have an image built up and they feel they need to fulfil it. The reality is that many of these people have spent a life enclosed in such a bubble (they had to, to achieve what they have) that they're rather naive and uninteresting. I actually think Lewis comes across as a decent bloke underneath but is fairly easily influenced by people telling him what to do. I don't think he's the most arrogant driver on the grid.
Nico on the other hand - hmm, not sure. He's a clever intelligent guy but there's a definite sense of entitlement there!

 

[Jen]

So, you really can't please all the people all of the time. Extraordinary results!!

https://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/news...on-rank-fans-f1-popularity-104632393--f1.html

 

[rufus_mcdufus]

Doesn't surprise me at all. There's always quite a lot of dislike for Lewis around it seems. I'm surprised Kimi is the most popular driver though.

 

[Incubus]

Maybe there's no need to be that cynical though. Just because Kimi or Alonso appear to be more popular doesn't necessarily mean they "dislike" Lewis.

I'm not totally surprised at these results though. I think there is a tendency over to think that opinions in the UK reflect those in the world. Funnily enough, they don't. You only have to pay attention to the cheers that accompany Alonso or Raikkonen when they make it on the podium and it's their turn to speak compared to other drivers.

And most importantly there is the Ferrari factor. Whether we like it or not on a worldwide level the biggest draw in the sport among the public isn't a driver. It's the red team. And any driver with a past or present connection with them will always have a headstart in the popularity stakes compared to those that don't.