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"

 

[FB]

With the best will in the World, I'm not sure his brother could offer the same sort of emotional support either his father or girlfriend could offer. Also, haven't seen him much recently, presume his own career is taking up much of his time.

 

[racecub]

They're on the internet with each other all the time. And lewis goes to watch him race. The girlfriend has her own career which is high profile, time consuming and on another continent. She also has a biological clock ticking. I dont think lewis is ready to commmit to marriage and babies just yet. He has other fish to fry first. It's a shame he didnt stay with his dad as manager, they were a good team. But then he took a lot of stick for having his dad as manager.

 

[RayInTorontoCanada]

Back to racing.

I'm wondering what people think about Hamilton coming back over the final 3 races and beating Button in the World Championship.

6 points were clawed back. There's 75 points up for grabs. Hamilton will need wins or he'll need a Red Bull and Alonso to take points off Button.

It's possible. What do people think?

 

[Hamberg]

Back to racing.

I'm wondering what people think about Hamilton coming back over the final 3 races and beating Button in the World Championship.

6 points were clawed back. There's 75 points up for grabs. Hamilton will need wins or he'll need a Red Bull and Alonso to take points off Button.

It's possible. What do people think?

That's what I'm watching the remaining races for.

 

[Il_leone]

Back to racing.

I'm wondering what people think about Hamilton coming back over the final 3 races and beating Button in the World Championship.

6 points were clawed back. There's 75 points up for grabs. Hamilton will need wins or he'll need a Red Bull and Alonso to take points off Button.

It's possible. What do people think?

YEs because anything can happen in F1 like 1986, 2007, 2008 and 2009 have proven. Only takes 1 dnf to change the whole thing

 

[RayInTorontoCanada]

Hamilton will need to finish ahead of Button in every race...and helping him do that would be to continue out-qualifying him.

Is it 8 - 8 right now in terms of finishes?

Let me check...

 

[Il_leone]

They're on the internet with each other all the time. And lewis goes to watch him race. The girlfriend has her own career which is high profile, time consuming and on another continent. She also has a biological clock ticking. I dont think lewis is ready to commmit to marriage and babies just yet. He has other fish to fry first. It's a shame he didnt stay with his dad as manager, they were a good team. But then he took a lot of stick for having his dad as manager.

Whilst Nicholas share a strong bond with Lewis. It was nowhere near as strong as Anthony and Lewis' because Anthony did try and protect Lewis all the day.
You look across the garage not only is John Button supporting Jenson but Jessica is there from time to time and it seems to have made Jenson much more relaxed and take away the stress.

Nicole knows how to deal with fame so should be more supportive of Lewis. I am glad Lewis was not dating Naomi Campbell so the media made out when they bump into each other at parties

Lewis is no James Hunt because he would be absolutely slaughtered by the press if he was seen with a different woman coming out of the night club . He cares about his racing and not pulling women like Hunt and Irvine did

Lewis said this is a long road to recovery. I think he will be glad when the season is over then and head to Switzerland or somewhere where he is not disturbed and have a quiet winter

 

[Lewywo4]

This is my view of "the girlfriend situation".

So what?

Lewis is a professional racing driver who is getting paid a lot of money to drive a McLaren-Mercedes and he shouldn't be concerned with any one girl at his age.

Women come and go. There's PLENTY of girls for Lewis to pick and choose from over the course of the next few years.

His sole focus should be winning races and championships and to heck with some woman who has her own professional obligations.

He needs to have a solid professional team looking out for all his interests at every Grand Prix...not some woman with whom he's up or down or sideways or whatever and who isn't there 100 percent for him.

Advice to Lewis:

My dear Lewis, you're a good looking and successful young man and there's plenty of fish in the sea. Do what James Hunt and Kimi Raikkonen did. Have fun and don't get tied down to some lady at this young age. Concentrate on Formula One and marry someone after you've got 3 or 4 World Championships under your belt.

I'm there for you, my boy! Call anytime!

 

[Il_leone]

Back to racing.

I'm wondering what people think about Hamilton coming back over the final 3 races and beating Button in the World Championship.

6 points were clawed back. There's 75 points up for grabs. Hamilton will need wins or he'll need a Red Bull and Alonso to take points off Button.

It's possible. What do people think?

Last 3 circuits

India anyone 's guess
Abu Dhabi both have got podiums there
Brazil - neither has won there but both claimed their world championships there with car No 22 and 5th place

So its going to be tight

I see Webber may have a point to prove in India and Brazil as he struggled in Abu DHabi and will not want to be winless and secure 2nd place which really should be his

Alonso - will still be there but be hampered by the poor Ferrari

 

[RayInTorontoCanada]

India anyone 's guess
Abu Dhabi both have got podiums there
Brazil - neither has won there but both claimed their world championships there with car No 22 and 5th place
Alonso - will still be there but be hampered by the poor Ferrari

I suppose given the Pirelli factor this year, past performance at a circuit is no indication of future performance. Look at Red Bull and McLaren and even Ferrari at tracks like Monza/Spa and Suzuka this year vs last year. Button, too, had a way better 2011 than he did a 2010 at Korea (and generally speaking).

I think if Button has just one finish ahead of Hamilton in the remaining 3 races, then it's game over and it'll be Lewis' first ever defeat to a teammate.

How he handles the defeat will be crucial to his 2012.

Already one can see positive signs from Lewis: Lewis lost the lead to Vettel but didn't lose his head and kept cool and calm and took 2nd. That's a champion's mark (at least to me).

PS

How "poor" can the Ferrari be? A couple of seconds from a win in Japan win (with Button running out of fuel, leaving nothing in the tank so to speak) and a handful of seconds from a 2nd in Korea. So, how poor can that Ferrari be?

 

[teabagyokel]

I think Hamilton is (as the Brundle would say) "mighty" at Abu Dhabi, but with a less than brilliant history at Interlagos.

 

[RasputinLives]

Now don't shoot me for saying this but does anyone else thing that Lewis might benifit from a gap year?

He came into F1 awfully young and has been in the spotlight ever since - must be hard for ayoung man to get his head together and decided who he is and what he wants. I think its common to struggle with that in you early 20's anyway even without the fame and fourtune.

Maybe Lewis would really gain from taking a season out and hiding himself out of the spotlight somewhere and just hvaing some QT for himself.

Next season would be best for it before the new regs come in. Do you think Mclaren would go for it if he signed a 3 year contract or something starting in 2013?

 

[GermanF1]

Without any background knowledge about what is going on in his life (and there certainly seems to be going on a lot), it's pretty hard to speculate what would be best for Lewis.

But what I know is, that in difficult situations in one's life, it's most important to be able to rely on a group of only a few people, who will provide help and support.

Lewis seems to be totally distracted from racing at the moment, I think (again I don't know why it happened) he should not have quit with his father, the person who supported him his whole life and even took 3 jobs at the same time to fund his career as a racing driver (but maybe this step was neccessary to grow). To me it seems they don't have any relationship at all anymore, which seems quite sad.
To top it all he acquainted himself with this Simon Fuller group, who are more known for sponsoring pop-celebrities (like Beckham) than serious athletes. Without a doubt his new managament is more interested in making profits with him, than his father was. So that MIGHT have been a wrong decision. But who am I to judge.

A gap year? Well these decisions can easily backfire. Let's assume McLaren replace him with someone else (say di Resta because of the Merc-connection or Kubica, as I don't think they would take a guy like de la Rosa for a whole season) and his replacement would become WDC next year, they would look stupid to fire him and let him go to another top team. So there would be no space left for Lewis after his "gap year". Contracts don't mean a lot these days...

In few words: Lewis should acquaint himself with people whom he can trust and life will continue, all of us have been in difficult private circumstances, but with the help of some close friends/family you get out of them quicker than you might think.

Btw.: In one or two German newspapers they were discussing, whether Lewis joined Scientology. What do guys think about that?

 

[Galahad]

I can't see McLaren (or Vodafone, Santander...) going for it. Who could they get in to replace him at this stage (please don't say Gary Paffett )?

Plus, what would we CTAers have to moan/cheer (delete as appropriate) about next season?

 

[Brogan]

Btw.: In one or two German newspapers they were discussing, whether Lewis joined Scientology. What do guys think about that?

I think he's a bloody idiot if he has.

Off topic for this thread, but that is one of the biggest scams going; Ron Hubbard only set it up to avoid paying taxes on his books.

Regarding the gap year idea, it's not going to happen.

 

[teabagyokel]

I think the same as every other utterly ludicrous comment that has appeared in any papers for the last couple of days. He hasn't smiled after getting pole on Saturday and thus something's wrong - it'll sure sell papers to speculate!

Getting on pole position means nothing in Formula One. There is no obligation to celebrate wildly, whoop down the team radio or stick your finger in the air.

But it'd sell papers to speculate as to why!

I don't care if he's found God in a crisp tube and started worshipping the Great God Pringle to be fair!

The point is, it's heading into slightly uncomfortable voyeuristic territory, and I think its up to him to sort out his personal life, and up to us to enjoy, or otherwise, his motor racing! Because, at the end of the day, that is why he is in the papers.

In one or two German newspapers they were discussing, whether Lewis joined Scientology. What do guys think about that?

I think he's a bloody idiot if he has.

Off topic for this thread, but that is one of the biggest scams going; Ron Hubbard only set it up to avoid paying taxes on his books.

However, I must declare that if he's found God in a crisp packet, at least L. Ron won't be making a penny out of it!

 

[RasputinLives]

Interesting views both - I guess you're right about Mclaren not going for it - although lets remember they were willing to shove De La Rosa in the car for half a year whislt they waited for Hamilton to be ready in 2006.

I don't know anything about his personel life really I'm just trying to compare it to the life of the average guy. I know myself and friends have mine have all said that after the rush of Uni and the graduation and then the clamour to get into a job related to your degree, then the excitment once you landed that role and honeymoon period of actually doing it for a while there is a slump when you realise this is the rest of your life and you have to stop and ask yourself is this actually what I want to do? Is this important to me? Thats usually solved by a little time out and a bit of travelling if you can save enough. Time to think.

Seems to me Lewis is going through that. He's had all the excitment of breaking into F1 and a fabulous rookie year. he won the world title and has become one fo the highest rated and paid drivers in the sport but now he's facing the reality of what that means and it being the rest of his life. Just think a little time hidden away doing whatever he fancies might do him some good.

surely Mclaren would rather have a relaxed and focused Lewis Hamilton in 2013 after missing a season than one who's still not sure about himself. I guess hard to convince the sponsors.

As for the Scientology thing - not too sure. Lewis never struck me as the type to go for that sort of thing but Nicole might be. its a very celb thing - however its followers always seem to float to the top of their proffesions - by hook or by crook. I mean look at Jason Lee! earns millions but you'd hardly describe him as the most talented in his field.

 

[Hamberg]

Getting on pole position means nothing in Formula One. There is no obligation to celebrate wildly, whoop down the team radio or stick your finger in the air.

Lewis looked positively overjoyed at his pole position when comparing him to Dani Pedrosa when he does.

The point is, it's heading into slightly uncomfortable voyeuristic territory, and I think its up to him to sort out his personal life, and up to us to enjoy, or otherwise, his motor racing! Because, at the end of the day, that is why he is in the papers.

So, so true.

If the scientology reports get picked up on we have definitive proof the Daily Mail read CTA.

 

[teabagyokel]

So, so true.

If the scientology reports get picked up on we have definitive proof the Daily Mail read CTA.

We could abuse that power...

 

[Brogan]

Having read a few recent posts, I'm increasingly less and less surprised that Hamilton is withdrawing and saying less.

The guy could find a cure for all ills and no doubt it would piss someone off.