Current Sir Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton MBE

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"

 

[racecub]

Well if Lewis looked at last year and saw places where he could improve his performance thats all good. Jenson had quite a few party years before he became Mr. sensible and Kimi has decide he wont change his ways.I think Lewis does respect his competitors, but Id hazzard he still thinks he's the best. And I imagine Alonso thinks Alonso is the best, and Vettel thinks Vettel's the best , Schumacher certainly thought he was.And Ayrton knew he was. The best have that self confidence, they have to have it, else they wont be the best.

 

[johnnoble1990]

I think "the best" is a moveable bar in F1 due to the small margins between drivers. You have to come out and consistently prove it week after week. But, "the best" also has an element of future tense. Who is the best is almost like asking, 'who do you think will win the most from here?', the answer of which I still believe is Lewis Hamilton. He has potential that he hasn't tapped into yet, but he'll get there.

 

[Bill Boddy]

.... Jenson had quite a few party years before he became Mr. sensible....

Would you point out the years when Button let his partying get in the way of his racing?

 

[racecub]

Would you point out the years when Button let his partying get in the way of his racing?

His early years. When he didnt do very well.

 

[Bill Boddy]

His early years. When he didnt do very well.

Neither did his team mates. If you compare his drives with theirs he is very little better or worse. A bad car does not mean that the driver is a playboy.

 

[johnnoble1990]

Thought I'd post this interview because it made me smile. It is from between Spain and Monaco on the FIA season review. It is good to see Lewis laughing and joking around with his teammate. It got really depressing as the season went on and he became really down. Just hope he can have a strong start this season. Find it interesting that he says he is always arguing for a longer 7th gear. Shows the aggressive frame of mind he has. Never wants to be stuck behind, like he was in that race. Good to see he sees it from a team point of view too, leaving Jenson extra space, even though it was Nico.

 

[Cookinflatsix]

Neither did his team mates. If you compare his drives with theirs he is very little better or worse. A bad car does not mean that the driver is a playboy.

So because his illustrious teammates didnt win it was all the car and not Jensons partying?

Before comparing Button to Hamilton in the 'dumb kid ' stakes let's talk about playboy lifestyles in the first year of an F1 career shall we?

Then it starts going to his head. Before we know it, he's bought a Ferrari, bought a flat in Monaco, and his now ex-girlfriend Kimberley Keay is giving interviews to the tabloids detailing how he got her pregnant and kicked her out to fend for herself; Jenson himself is silent on this subject, but his father (!) is quoted as saying Jenson is "Auditioning" for a new girlfriend, and is using among his pickup lines, "I'm going to Monaco to look at flats, want to come?", an attitude far more suitable for an ageing roué or a lottery winner than for a boy who has just reached the top of his profession and has his work cut out to remain there. Before he has actually signed a contract with Williams Grand Prix, in rapid succession Button reveals that he is writing his autobiography (at the age of 19!) and considering the endorsement of a personally-branded line of clothing. He is appearing on television and radio and in print, and almost always the stories concentrate on what he is buying and who he is dating (currently would-be singer Louise Griffiths). His time on the track is just another way in which he entertains us, not his life's work, far less his vocation.
As long as I was considering Button solely in his role as second driver at Williams Grand Prix, I found this attitude very hard to understand, especially in light of the fact that, from the day he was hired, it was common knowledge that he was only in that seat until Sir Frank Williams could find a way to bring Juan Pablo Montoya back from Champ Cars in America, unless Button proved himself the better pilot. And Juan Pablo Montoya was certainly proving himself as a racing driver, not by his antics in the press, but by winning everything on offer B on short ovals, superspeedways, street courses and road courses, including the Indianapolis 500. Juan Pablo was a man whose vocation is racing, with obvious natural talent and the driving flair last seen in one Gilles Villeneuve. And Juan Pablo Montoya knew what his goal was and how he was going to reach it. "I am here," he said over and over, "to drive the car and win for the team."

Full article can be found here;
http://www.f1rejects.com/centrale/submitted/button/index.html

We all know that 12 years later Button had knuckled down to become a real pro fulfilling his potential, appears Lewis is doing it all smarter

 

[Cookinflatsix]

Would you point out the years when Button let his partying get in the way of his racing?

His team boss was best placed at that time to make the call, this is from the official formula 1 website
http://www.formula1.com/teams_and_drivers/hall_of_fame/6/

His debut F1 season went well (he became the sport's youngest ever point scorer) but Williams (having previously committed to another driver) loaned Jenson to Benetton-Renault for the next two seasons. During this period his on-track performances were less noteworthy than the dramatic lifestyle changes he so eagerly embraced. Yet the series of glamorous girlfriends, the Monaco flat, the Ferrari road car, the 72 foot yacht, were expensive distractions that, as Jenson later admitted, nearly cost him his career. When releasing him (to make way for future champion Fernando Alonso) Benetton boss Flavio Briatore declared that "Jenson Button is just a lazy playboy."

I don't recall Whitmarsh saying anything remotely resembling this even at the lowest point of Hamiltons 'distractions'

 

[riskitall]

i think if the team give lewis their full support(i cant see it from whitmarsh)just like they do button,lewis will have a great season as long as he cuts out his own mistakes.
but his team need to stop making things more difficult for him-examples

Australia, broken bondage on the bib
Malaysia, put on the wrong tyres, slow pit stop
China floaded the car with fuel, left Lewis out in the dry as Button did not pit
Turkey very slow pit stop (35 sec)
Monaco, wrong timing at the Qualy
Silverstone put used tyres instead of new on the car at Q3, underfuelled the car.
Barcelona wrong gear ratio ( both drivers did not agree with the short gears)
Monza short gearing as well
Singapore unable to refuel the car at Q3
Hungary, wrong tyre strategy
Japan sent out too late at Q3
India slow puncture / wrong tyre pressure

 

[racecub]

Neither did his team mates. If you compare his drives with theirs he is very little better or worse. A bad car does not mean that the driver is a playboy.

I think the team mates mostly beat him, possibly because he was a playboy. I know a slow car doesnt make the driver a playboy, but not being a playboy may improve the performance of the slow car(Like Lewis did in 2009).
On whether Jenson was or wasnt a playboy.......what Cook quoted.
I dont want to dwell on Button, I just used him and Kimi as an example, of guys who really know/knew how to party. Lewis himself has said he was distracted last year and sometimes went out when he should have stayed in and trained more, but even then I wouldnt call him a playboy. Jenson has turned his image around. Lewis says, he will be judged by his future achievements, lets hope everything comes right and he fulfills all his huge potential.

 

[johnnoble1990]

I don't think Lewis can complain of bias towards Jenson. He can perhaps count himself unfortunate that more of the strategic mistakes seem to fall his way than Jenson's, though Jenson losing his wheel and something Monaco 2010 spring to mind. The one thing that does now annoy me is the constant hugs between Martin and Jenson. Though I don't think there is bias, I think Martin is probably closer friends with Jenson...

 

[johnnoble1990]

I think the team mates mostly beat him, possibly because he was a playboy. I know a slow car doesnt make the driver a playboy, but not being a playboy may improve the performance of the slow car(Like Lewis did in 2009).
On whether Jenson was or wasnt a playboy.......what Cook quoted.
I dont want to dwell on Button, I just used him and Kimi as an example, of guys who really know/knew how to party. Lewis himself has said he was distracted last year and sometimes went out when he should have stayed in and trained more, but even then I wouldnt call him a playboy. Jenson has turned his image around. Lewis says, he will be judged by his future achievements, lets hope everything comes right and he fulfills all his huge potential.

I think it comes with the territory. As people age though, they began to re-evaluate what is important. I think this was part of why he fell out with his dad.

 

[Cookinflatsix]

I think it comes with the territory. As people age though, they began to re-evaluate what is important. I think this was part of why he fell out with his dad.

I would say it almost certainly was

His previously hard working church going son suddenly hooked up with a risqué singer twice his age, who introduces him to a crowd with a 'non athletic' lifestyle. Good for Lewis to stand up to his dad and try his own way, and equally good on the lad to get it out his system and promise to change do quickly. I am sure he can still be friends with Ice Cream and the other rappers as long as he devotes the right amount of time to preparing for the races

We all know he is gonna get slated for moving to Monaco, even though he hasn't bought a 72 ft yacht and parked it next to his bosses smaller one

 

[johnnoble1990]

I think we all know the reasons he moved to Monaco, so anyone who slates him for it is clearly an idiot. They'd probably have passed 4 F1 drivers just to get a interview with him.

 

[The Pits]

even though he hasn't bought a 72 ft yacht and parked it next to his bosses smaller one

http://www.bornrich.com/sunseeker-90.html

To be fair, the reports that he owned a yacht were denied, but then there was this:

http://www.autoracingdaily.com/news...-hamilton-fined-70-for-improper-boat-parking/

To be honest, there are many parallels, and the "success ballast" can manifest itself in many ways. One common theme seems to be learning the lesson and moving on, rather than have someone tell you about it. Lewis now has a new manager, who will hopefully help.

 

[Cookinflatsix]

To be honest, there are many parallels, and the "success ballast" can manifest itself in many ways. One common theme seems to be learning the lesson and moving on, rather than have someone tell you about it. Lewis now has a new manager, who will hopefully help.

Not sure I see the parallels

If someone is successfully and makes money as a result, then buying a yacht doesn't turn them into a playboy, especially if they have the one girlfriend for years and they were on the yacht with her

Different to some one buying a yacht before a whiff of success and setting themselves up as a playboy with multiple trophy girls, seeking media attention and looking for merchandising deals even before proving a thing on track

If it takes many years for one to change for the better then the smarter one is the one who changed a lot quicker by employing someone to help him rather than take years to wiork it out himself

 

[The Pits]

Not sure I see the parallels

To be honest, I did not think that you would.

It all depends on how you measure success, and how you view each of the drivers in question, and what you think the current and historic situation is.

Personally, my opinion is that Jenson was dropped in to F1 before he was ready, a little on his own, in a high profile team, with a lot of media attention. That in itself could be seen as success. With the media focus, it is a short step to believe the hype yourself, and depending on how good your support network is, you can move on. By the time Jenson had moved on to BAR, he had moved on, it took a little while longer to shake the image, but new management following the contract issues was the key.

Lewis's path into F1 was more stringent, and he had more successes on his way to the top. He also had some very strong mentors with Ron Dennis and the McLaren team, along with his father, so getting in to F1 in itself may not have been the same level of success as it would have been for Jenson.

The yacht is immaterial. If your success leads to you doing things which can impact that very success, there is an issue. The things you do will vary, and will impact your life in different ways, as Lewis has pointed out. As for employing someone to help, they both did. Hence Lewis' comments about Jensons "bubble" It remains to be seen how successful Lewis new manager is, however, I believe he is exactly the right person for the job.

 

[Jos the Boss]

There's a 2,000 post limit on threads, for technical reasons. It will be closed when it reaches that and a new one opened.

In the meantime, here's a new interview: http://www1.skysports.com/formula-1/news/12433/7490188

How come it's still open?

 

[Brogan]

The server seems to be coping fine so there's no reason to.

http://cliptheapex.com/threads/what-happens-when-threads-reach-2-000-posts.4648/

 

[Cookinflatsix]

Its got more replies than the next 4 drivers combined

Cant keep an interesting thread down