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"

 

[Il_leone]

Did not MClaren sign a new sponsor deal with Coca- Cola after Vodafone are pulling the plug for next season

Now what a marketing dream for Lewis and his management team to market him in the US with the No 1 drinks company trumping Red Bull and also i guess we might see a Red and White Mclaren with a yellow helmet

 

[Il_leone]

I was gonna say Mclaren had less money on the table to offer to Lewis than Mercedes , Red Bull or Ferrari but if the Coca Cola deal is sealed then that changes a few things

Ferrari if people did not realise contain both Italian and Spanish backers both suffering from the economic recession ..

 

[racecub]

What if the coca cola deal is dependent on Lewis being in a Mclaren? Juicy!

 

[Il_leone]

its only rumours but neither party has denied it aint on

 

[ZakspeedYakspeed]

There is also no truth the rumour that Coke are bringing out two new products to compliment their forthcoming sponsorship of McLaren... Coke 25 and Coke 43... whilst it can be confirmed that Coke Zero will not be included in the livery design plan...

 

[racecub]

So they are sponsoring McLaren then? Is that with/ without Lewis or either option?

 

[ZakspeedYakspeed]

I don't know if they are... just some tired end of the day humour... good write up on topic here...

http://willthef1journo.wordpress.com/2012/07/16/coca-cola-and-mclaren/

 

[racecub]

Hmmm! Interesting. A good read thanks. Well whether or not coca cola do sponsor Mclaren, the prospect sounds more exciting than the other one. ..GSK? That sounds a bit wet, a bit too.........wishy washy direction mcLaren have been heading these past few years.

 

[Il_leone]

I do seriously think Coca Cola are interested in F1 sponsorship remember back in 1990's 7up and Pepsi with Jordan it worked well because the team was in green

I forgot GSK own Lucozade but this is business and there is a title sponsor vacancy available for Mclaren We have Red Bull who incidentally sneaked into the US market unnoticed by Coca Cola and Pepsi until it gained nearly 40% market something Virgin Cola could not do

Also Monster Energy drink which still sponsors Mercedes

So there is miles in this and like I said Red and White Mclaren makes sense unless Coca Cola do a swerve and join Ferrari in its glorious red

For Hamilton the only thing he has to remember is to not be seen drinking a can of Pepsi like what happened to Ronaldinho with his sponsors

 

[Kewee]

Yeah, I believe they were. Mostly media speculation and McLaren posturing. Dennis has made it clear on a number of occasions that they have no plans of offering Hamilton anything remotely approaching his previous contract. Another fantasy is the notion that if Hamilton had already signed a piece of paper then he would have been rewarded with better results in the pits and on the track.
.

This might be a long posting and I might repeat things I've already said. I don't think the articles relating to the offer McLaren had supposedly put on the table were fantasy as they were reported widely on all the reputable motorsport sites including the Official F1 site and the Autosport website. At no time did Ron Dennis use the words "remotely approaching" when he talked about upcoming contract negotiations, he simply said they were in a very different economic environment. Viscount mentioned that he believed McLaren wanted Hamilton more than Lewis needing McLaren, I think exactly the opposite and have given my reasons on other postings I've made but I'll repeat them anyway though many know my views regarding this. I also don't consider it fantasy regarding signing a contract, and no Keke, I didn't say he'd get better results in the pits. If your going to suggest my opinions are fantasy, please quote me correctly. I only referred to financial rewards and better results on track. There are many examples of the benefits of contentment within a team, Alonso's current position is a prime example. He has no contractual concerns to distract him, he's incredibly happy being a Ferrari driver, including during the hard times, and even with his back to the wall in a difficult car has still been able to deliver results.
I've always believed McLaren did Lewis no favors at all by bringing him into the team without the opportunity of going through a learning curve. Hamilton's a brilliant driver, absolutely no doubt about that at all, but I suspect he does still have a weakness. Coming straight from GP2 into a race seat in F1 he was never given the opportunity to learn valuable development skills. He would have been so much better off had they brought him in as a test driver for his first season. Alonso is known for his skills in this area and giving Hamilton the opportunity of working with Alonso for a full season rather than fighting him would have provided him with immeasurable benefits and without a doubt made him a far more valuable and complete member of any team considering a contract with him, so for this reason I've always believed Lewis needs McLaren more than McLaren needing Lewis. I suspect this may be contributing to McLarens current problems. Only insiders at McLaren will know whether this is true, but I suspect Lewis may not be able to give the engineers as much feedback as they would like to develop the current car to his liking. They clearly have a good relationship with Button who has a very good reputation regarding development work but sadly for Lewis and McLaren he has a very different driving style to Lewis and therein maybe, lies their problem. In their efforts to provide a car setup more to Lewis's liking they appear to have left Jenson in no mans land. I hope for McLarens sake this is not true but with the current car they may not be able to find a setup suited to two drivers with such different driving styles. Hopefully they can find a solution that doesn't leave both drivers having to make do with a compromise. They do still have time to recover.

 

[racecub]

When Lewis was in the development programme one of the things Ron insisted on was that he learn everything about motor racing, not just hone his skills in the driving seat, Ron wanted him able technically as well. Now you may be right, technical feedback and and development skills are perhaps not Lewis best skills...not through lack of training, but people's skill sets differ. In fact I have it on good authority that this is not one of Lewis' strengths, neither is it one of Button's strengths. Alonso on the other hand is very good in this area. This comes from a top engineer who has worked with all three. Which begs the question why did McLaren hire Button?? Instead of a driver who would complement Lewis' skills? And why did they split up the working relationship Lewis had developed with his engineer if they recognised this was an area he needed support with? Why try to accomodate a driver with equally poor development skills who had a completely different driving style to their currently employed driver? By following the lead of Button they have compromised the for Lewis. And despie Lewis not being known for his development skills I believe he is constantly done an injustice. Who set the car up better over the last seven races? Who has had better tyre management? Who got completely lost and took the team with them up a blind alley?Lewis has expressed desire to understand the tyres better and been snubbed.When the car should be getting upgrades Lewis finds all the top engineers huddled over his data trying to find out why Button is so slow. And then we have Button reverting to Lewis' settings....So I think its a little disingenuous to say Lewis is the cause of McLaren's problems. He may have masked them. He may have prevented them looking fools earlier than they have looked fools but look elsewhere for blame. I think McLaren definately need Lewis more than he needs them.

 

[Kewee]

racecub......We only appear to disagree on a couple of points which is fine, this site would have no purpose if we all agreed.
I wasn't being critical of Hamilton and said he's a brilliant driver, though I believe my comments regarding development are valid.
It's worth remembering very few drivers in the sport equal Alonso in this regard, Schumacher certainly used to, whether he still does I'm not so sure but certainly during his Ferrari years he and Alonso were the best in the sport in this regard. My feelings regarding Button are different than yours. There are many who rate his development work very highly. How often do we hear him on the radio giving his engineers very precise information on the cars behavior during the practice sessions. We constantly read postings on this site referring to him "complaining or making excuses". In reality he's doing what every good development driver does, communicating valuable information to his race engineer to try and achieve a decent setup. I wasn't suggesting in any way at all that Lewis was the cause of McLarens problems, I simple said that in an attempt to find a solution for Hamilton they've created a problem for Button. Clearly they're having a difficulties finding a solution that suits both drivers.

 

[racecub]

I definately agree with you re-Alonso. Ive only ever heard good about his development skills.(the enginer I referred to works with him currently). Not so Button, we'll have to disagree on that one. I think having two drivers with such different needs is not going to work. Id say they've messed things up for Lewis by trying to cater to Button. Button was ok with a planted rear end (same at Brawn) but without the diffuser he's lost; and in trying to sort him out the car has stalled in development and now Lewis is suffering too.I think its that way round, but I guess it depends where you're coming from.

 

[Kewee]

I'm trying and hope I'm being unbiased racecub. I think we both agree that getting it right for Lewis screws it up for Jenson, get it right for Jenson and Lewis suffers. When you said having two drivers with such different needs not working is exactly right. I've been saying the same thing but trying not to apportion blame on either driver. One thing I will say and I think you'll agree, Jenson needs his car to be close to ideal to be able to give his best but in saying that I suspect they have serious issues at the moment. It's hard to believe that the Jenson we're seeing at present is the same Jenson that won Canada a year ago from the back of the field. One advantage Lewis has over Jenson is the ability to drive around the problems of a difficult car, lets hope McLaren find a solution for both drivers. A little wave before I fall asleep. It's after midnight on my side of the world.

 

[Viscount]

Kewee In terms of a driver learning how to help develop a car, where better to learn than one of the top teams that (usually) consistently develop their car throughout a season such as McLaren? As his rookie season showed he was ready to race in Formula One and as you say, Alonso is very well known for his skills in development (and his infamous 6 tenths ) which is probably why McLaren thought that Hamilton would be able to learn from Alonso alongside him, I imagine at the time they envisioned it becoming a long-term partnership rather than a season long battle.

In regards to my comment, McLaren have put a lot of time, money and effort into developing Hamilton as a long-term driver for them so I don't think they would want to end that investment now whilst he's still performing well for them and there is no better driver available in the current market. On the other hand, Hamilton might be able to find a better team for his requirements based on the potential available seats next season. Which is why I believe McLaren want Hamilton more than Hamilton needs McLaren. Though I still think he'll end up staying with them.

 

[Kewee]

Viscount..... I said months ago that I believed Hamilton would stay with McLaren, I just believe your better negotiating and ultimately signing a contract when others are showing an interest. Your in a much stronger position than waiting until most of the other doors close. I don't believe Ferrari are, or ever have been a serious option for Lewis and I don't believe Lotus would come close to the type of deal that McLaren can offer, nor do I think he'd be better off with Lotus. He's with family at McLaren and any problems they're currently having are solvable. Loyalty will pay in spades if he stays. Regarding his first season in F1, yes he shone beyond everyones expectations, probably even his own, but I still believe he would be a more rounded driver today if he had an apprenticeship year. I have no doubt he would have learned more working with Alonso than competing against him. It's also worth remembering Mansel's comment that Lewis lucked into a fabulous car straight out of the box which undoubtably contributed to his wonderful first year in F1. If you answer I'll read it in the morning.

 

[Viscount]

Kewee Well I pretty much agree with most of what you've said there, i just think that he still has sufficient interest from other teams to negotiate with McLaren.

 

[racecub]

A nighty night wave back Kewee.
Lotus may not be able to offer Lewis the money but its not all about money.
On Mansell---- I dont think Lewis did 'luck' into that drive. He earnt it and proved he was able to handle it. Mansell is a grumpy old man who doesn't like to think anyone is considered a challenge to his achievements.

 

[Il_leone]

I will repeat what Ron Dennis said when Lewis was doing well in Gp2 2006 " He must not be obsessed with getting into F1 quickly" but obviously circumstances changed once Montoya decided to quit and Pedro did not impress whilst all other drivers were tied to their teams except Schumacher who opted to retire rather than be racing Kimi on equal terms at Ferrari

A few years back Martin Whitmarsh 's failed experiment about Lewis was the fact that he admits that Mclaren giving Lewis competitive cars to deal meant he had no idea to deal with when he was not competitive in 2009 and subsequently part of Mclaren's programme is they make sure all development drivers are to spend a season with uncompetitive machinery as part of the learning process

Lucky for Lewis now there are no real rivals who Mclaren would turn to replace him. If anything I would not put it beyond Mercedes to offer a Hamilton / Rosberg swap if Merc want to keep Schumacher

 

[racecub]

I think Lewis dealt pretty well with the uncompetitive 2009 McLaren. I also think it would have been an error not to put him in the 2007 car. Whitmarsh didn't like Lewis' dad dictating terms to him, thats why the contract got ripped up. Maybe that's why Whitmarsh has a problem with Lewis?