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"
 
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racecub said:
Really? Then why did lauda say he used to run drivers off the road? and why did he defend Schumachers aggresive weaving starts? saying its all part of racing; only to then say lewis will 'kill someone' with his driving. Doesnt sound like someone who knows what they are talking about to me.
And as Senna says the only one who can make the decision is the one in the driving seat at the time. As a three time world champion Lauda should know that.
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What's your opinion on Hamilton's driving style racecub?
 
racecub said:
My opinion is that he is the most exciting and most talented driver on the grid who is having a nightmare season for some reason. But Im not sure my opinion is really relevant here.
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Your opinion is as valid and as relevant as anyone else's. Me personally, I agree with regard to the excitement Hamilton brings to sport.

Whilst agreeing that he is talented, I think the word "talent" is rather over utilised. All too often it is mis-used to imply that it is somehow something innate - i.e. "natural talent" - and not learned or nurtured.Yes, there are attributes that some seem to have been blessed with more than others, such as depth perception, spacial awareness, tenacity, confidence, etc. but these too have to be nurtured to be effective.

I've noticed that sometimes a person's ability is described using the term "natural talent" as if to suggest that the person in question is incapable of learning anything new, whereas, I think you will agree, the exact opposite is the case. It is often forgotten that motor vehicles are human constructs and so, therefore, is driving. Hamilton is good at this because he has natural attributes that have been nurtured and enhanced by working seriously hard to get good, supported in an equally hard working family environment. It is his very propensity for learning that has brought him to where he is now so time is on his side as he is yet young. He can only get better.

Having said all that, it is the competition that decides who is the best at any given time. The fact is that there are a lot of racers in F1 and many more striving to make it into F1 who are very, very good. Without stiff competition being the best at anything doesn't actually mean very much. So, yes, support him but don't be over-sensitive to those who have a problem with him. At the end of the day we who admire him should have confidence enough to let his work do the talking.
 
Fenderman said:
Your opinion is as valid and as relevant as anyone else's. Me personally, I agree with regard to the excitement Hamilton brings to sport.

Whilst agreeing that he is talented, I think the word "talent" is rather over utilised. All too often it is mis-used to imply that it is somehow something innate - i.e. "natural talent" - and not learned or nurtured.Yes, there are attributes that some seem to have been blessed with more than others, such as depth perception, spacial awareness, tenacity, confidence, etc. but these too have to be nurtured to be effective.

I've noticed that sometimes a person's ability is described using the term "natural talent" as if to suggest that the person in question is incapable of learning anything new, whereas, I think you will agree, the exact opposite is the case. It is often forgotten that motor vehicles are human constructs and so, therefore, is driving. Hamilton is good at this because he has natural attributes that have been nurtured and enhanced by working seriously hard to get good, supported in an equally hard working family environment. It is his very propensity for learning that has brought him to where he is now so time is on his side as he is yet young. He can only get better.

Having said all that, it is the competition that decides who is the best at any given time. The fact is that there are a lot of racers in F1 and many more striving to make it into F1 who are very, very good. Without stiff competition being the best at anything doesn't actually mean very much. So, yes, support him but don't be over-sensitive to those who have a problem with him. At the end of the day we who admire him should have confidence enough to let his work do the talking.
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Well Said..!!
 
racecub said:
My opinion is that he is the most exciting and most talented driver on the grid who is having a nightmare season for some reason. But Im not sure my opinion is really relevant here.
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Thank you racecub.

The reason I asked was because, like Lauda and Mansell, when asked, you give an opinion (and also aren't a current driver I think) and as former drivers and current pundits they are always going to be asked their opinion and their only crime is answering. I very much doubt they called up the newspapers and said "hey, I need to tell you what I think of Hamilton", like everyone else they are asked and probably probed. I don't think it's fair to call them idiots especially given their achievements. Feel free to call the journalists that are enjoying this feeding frenzy and keeping it in the spotlight idiots though.
 
Fenderman said:
Hamilton is good at this because he has natural attributes that have been nurtured and enhanced by working seriously hard to get good, supported in an equally hard working family environment. It is his very propensity for learning that has brought him to where he is now so time is on his side as he is yet young. He can only get better.
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I'm not sure I entirely agree. It's believed that Hamilton since pre karting days somehow knew how to trail brake, where to place his car and how to do sensational overtakes. This was seen as early as observing him with remote control cars. Of course these skills are honed and needs to be adapted depending on the car, but there is something that Hamilton has that can't be taught. You've either got it or you haven't and not many have it to his precision.

Something that Hamilton does need to learn and adapt to are the changes in rules. He's never liked the car heavy, he doesn't like the pirelli's at all and DRS I think has caught him out when he goes back into Hamilton mode of overtaking. I'm not even sure Alonso has really got to grips with DRS style overtaking either.

So yes he will and must continue to learn, but he needs to learn the new way of doing things, the artificial way.
 
racecub said:
Really? Then why did lauda say he used to run drivers off the road? and why did he defend Schumachers aggresive weaving starts? saying its all part of racing; only to then say lewis will 'kill someone' with his driving. Doesnt sound like someone who knows what they are talking about to me.
And as Senna says the only one who can make the decision is the one in the driving seat at the time. As a three time world champion Lauda should know that.
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Evidence of Lauda running drivers off the road.... for a start the guy was nearly burned to death when his car burst to flames and decided to come back early to defend his title..then when the weather was treacherous he decided he did not want to risk his life and was then shafted by his team Ferrari who politically engineered to make him No2 for surrendering the title. Some of Lewis' incidents he has less than 10% of pulling it off so why does he risk it still

Your example ; Senna DID deliberately run Prost off the road except nobody decided to take action and he admitted he was not gonna slow up if Prost did not move out of the way..that was premeditated

JYS asked the question and off course Senna is going to deny it there and then

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Mansell use to race against Senna and was the only man apart from Prost who knew how to pass Senna consistently
... I don't see how he could be an idiot either... all he did was tell Lewis to stop being petulant on camera
 
Il_leone said:
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Mansell use to race against Senna and was the only man apart from Prost who knew how to pass Senna consistently
... I don't see how he could be an idiot either... all he did was tell Lewis to stop being petulant on camera
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Mansell has made some very outrageous, unnecessary, and un-called for comments regarding Lewis, which had nothing to do with his so-called........Petulance..!!
 
I, personally, believe in the human being not in the myth. We are talking about the guy who put his car on pole in Korea and fought the entire length of that race to secure second place in what many argue is the second best car on the grid. But for hitting the DRS button just as he approached a waved yellow that many feel should no longer have been there he would have been second on the grid last weekend and, in theory, out of Massa's way. Stuff happens. Not forgetting his two wins this season, three other second places and apart from two retirements has finished in the top eight all season. He is fifth in the championship (mathematically still in with a shout of a much higher position) behind two double world champions, one single world champion and the team-mate of the new WDC. That is some very serious competition.

Ignoring the controversial nature of many of the "incidents" I'm not sure that that is as bad a situation as people are making out. He is a human being, not a god. I am sorry that some of his fans may feel that he has let them down but in that, I think they are wrong. If we place someone on an artificial pedestal we should not be surprised if sometimes they fall off. there are numerous ex and current F1 drivers who would give their right arm for the results he has attained this season. It never ceases to amaze me how this seems to get missed when folk's fall for the media hype and guff. Have some faith.

At the risk of hurting some more feelings here, I would suggest that he has demonstrated new ways to do things ever since he got into F1. I think that it is somewhat bizarre to imply that he isn't exploring different and new ways of doing things already. and that it is rather arrogant for us armchair enthusiasts to assume otherwise.
 
Il_leone said:
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Evidence of Lauda running drivers off the road.... for a start the guy was nearly burned to death when his car burst to flames and decided to come back early to defend his title..then when the weather was treacherous he decided he did not want to risk his life and was then shafted by his team Ferrari who politically engineered to make him No2 for surrendering the title. Some of Lewis' incidents he has less than 10% of pulling it off so why does he risk it still

Your example ; Senna DID deliberately run Prost off the road except nobody decided to take action and he admitted he was not gonna slow up if Prost did not move out of the way..that was premeditated

JYS asked the question and off course Senna is going to deny it there and then

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Mansell use to race against Senna and was the only man apart from Prost who knew how to pass Senna consistently
... I don't see how he could be an idiot either... all he did was tell Lewis to stop being petulant on camera
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Im not sure why you're saying all this:unsure:Im not disputing lauda's achievements and he was an incredibley brave man.I know his history. The evidence for him running drivers off the road was by his own admition. Yes he is entitled to his opinions on Lewis but in the light of his admitions about how he treated competitors, calling Lewis dangerous and likely to kill someone is hypercritical at the very least.Knowing from experience what being a racing driver entails, you would expect a little more understanding when replying to questions about a young driver.
On Senna- I didnt give the example of his collision with Prost-thats a different issue altogether. I refered to the video clip where he was asked why he crashed so much more than all the other drivers put together. I thought it pertinent since Lewis is in that position and asked such questions.
Mansell-he has two sons who race. Would he like an ex-racing driver to be unkind about them? And on petulance I really dont think he has any room to criricise anyone else. He may well have been able to pass Senna, that doent stop him being foolish. My personal opinion is that Senna was in a different league.
To answer a couple of other points. I know these guys get asked questions and give opinions, they dont have to like the person in question but a little sensitivity and respect wouldnt go amiss.
And finally (I hear a sigh of relief) I know I get too senstive to criticism of Hamilton, especially when the same things keep being said over and over again and it seems some people take delight in this. It's not easy being a Hamilton supporter this year but I have every confidence in him, for me no one comes close and I will remain a supporter. But I will try to be less emotional about it.
 
McLarenDan said:
Hamilton on Vettel China 2011.
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Interesting that you mention that one. That move is probably the best comparison we have to the Hamilton - Massa incident in India. Lewis was about 3/4 alongside on the approach to a left hand sweeper, Seb knew he was there and was ultimately forced to give way or chop across and cause a collision.

You can see it at 16:55 here, and it'll be included in future videos as well.

 
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Keke TheKing!!! That was ACE and exactly the tonic I needed:D I love watching his moves but always forget wich race its happened at. Ones that do stick in my mind,I guess because i was at the track, are Silverstone 06, GP2. Three abreast round Beckets and onto Hanger. Lewis last in and first out, Piquet off through an advertising hording :chuffed:. The other one, was Silverstone (erm, I think 09 becuase the McLaren was a dog) and it was only for about 16th place, but it was Lewis and Alonso and it was Silverstone. The crowd went bolistic. Alonso got him back later in the lap but it was still sweet.
And all of Silverstone 2008 was just devine:heart: .
 

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