Poll Will Lewis Hamilton be back on his 2007 - 2010 form in 2012?

[downforce]

Just wanna know what you all think

 

[no-FIAt-please]

I bloody hope so!

He certainly seemed back on form during the last few races in 2011.

 

[FB]

I'm not sure his form was that bad in 2011. He was bit moody but still managed to win 3 races so, all in all, not a bad result. The key would appear to be his personal life and there's nothing Mclaren can really do to help that although their history of pitting drivers against one another won't help him if Jenson gets a flyer in 2012. I think the first 3 races will determine his season so I'll vote after that

 

[RasputinLives]

I think the question you should be asking is whether even if Lewis is on 2007 form will it be good enough to take on Vettel

 

[sportsman]

Not a simple yes or no question this.Will he be back yes.But a very different Lewis from previous years.
He is another year older and will have matured a lot during the last year for many reasons.
2011 was a roller coaster year of emotions both personal and on the track.He had a rough time at the hands of the stewards some justified and some not.
Next season I expect to him regain his old form but in a much more restrained manner.He will always be the natural instictive racer that he was but his racing will be tempered by him thinking in a different fashion.
Lewis is a very intelligent young man and during the winter he will have considered all aspects of his life and will make the changes he has decided to implement.
2012 he could prove to be a very dominant force to carry the fight to Red Bull and Vettel assuming that McLaren give him the car to do the job.

 

[downforce]

I think the question you should be asking is whether even if Lewis is on 2007 form will it be good enough to take on Vettel

Yes I believe his 2007 - 2010 form is better than Vettel and his 2011 form was way below vettel

 

[RasputinLives]

Yes I believe his 2007 - 2010 form is better than Vettel and his 2011 form was way below vettel

Lewis in 2010 was better than Vettel in 2010? interesting view. Jury is still out for me whether a 2007/2008 Lewis would beat a 2010/2011 Vettel

I will say that when they got rid of pitstops from F1 the berometer swung massively towards Vettel and away from Lewis. I think Lewis's style is much more suited to quick sprint/stop/quick sprint/stop where as Vettel style is more calm and control.

 

[KekeTheKing]

I voted no.

(fanboy cap on)

He'll be better than ever.

(fanboy cap off)

.....if the car is up to snuff.

 

[downforce]

Lewis in 2010 was better than Vettel in 2010? interesting view. Jury is still out for me whether a 2007/2008 Lewis would beat a 2010/2011 Vettel

I will say that when they got rid of pitstops from F1 the berometer swung massively towards Vettel and away from Lewis. I think Lewis's style is much more suited to quick sprint/stop/quick sprint/stop where as Vettel style is more calm and control.

I hear what your saying but I think the barometer swung before that actually, I'd say it swung at the start of 2009 towards Vettel and we still had refuelling then. McLaren were better than Red-Bull in the testing era and Red-Bull have been better than McLaren in the non-testing era refuelling or no.

I'm, not saying Vettel is a bad driver, indeed I havent mentioned him in the thread I think he is one of the best. But we can't deny that car performance was a big part of Hamiltons succes in 2007/8 and Vettels succes in 2009 - 2011.

What you say about Hamiltons style being suited to quick sprint/stop/quick sprint/stop that is what 2011 was more than any other of his seasons and it is the one in which he was worst whereas 2010 was almost do 13 laps pit and do the remaining 50 laps on 1 set of tyres, and Hamilton excelled in this area.

This may well be a biased view I will admit straight away but I think Hamilton was the driver of the year in 2010 even including monza. All the top drivers made mistakes that year

 

[Incubus]

I'm not sure if personal form comes into it that much.
I think everybody right now must have long-term worries that the Red Bull will be the faster car for as long as Mr Newey has anything to do with the team.
Nobody amonst the top-drivers like finishing second, it's just that different drivers have different temperaments and different ways of coping with the worry that the Red Bull/Vettel partnership may dominate the sport for years to come.
Alonso seems a bit more optimistic that this will not be the case, Button seems happy to at least be in contention, Hamilton is perhaps more worried that Red Bull will be pace-setters for many years - and everybody else will be fighting for second place, and that's when a sense of desperation sometimes creeps into his driving.

 

[RasputinLives]

I hear what your saying but I think the barometer swung before that actually, I'd say it swung at the start of 2009 towards Vettel and we still had refuelling then. McLaren were better than Red-Bull in the testing era and Red-Bull have been better than McLaren in the non-testing era refuelling or no.

I'm, not saying Vettel is a bad driver, indeed I havent mentioned him in the thread I think he is one of the best. But we can't deny that car performance was a big part of Hamiltons succes in 2007/8 and Vettels succes in 2009 - 2011.

What you say about Hamiltons style being suited to quick sprint/stop/quick sprint/stop that is what 2011 was more than any other of his seasons and it is the one in which he was worst whereas 2010 was almost do 13 laps pit and do the remaining 50 laps on 1 set of tyres, and Hamilton excelled in this area.

This may well be a biased view I will admit straight away but I think Hamilton was the driver of the year in 2010 even including monza. All the top drivers made mistakes that year

Have to disagree with you on the 2010 thing - lets not forget if Vettel had not had so many mechanical issues he'd have walked it in 2010 - to have to cope with that and play second fiddle to a team-mate in form and still come back to take the title at the end is pretty good going.

I also hear what you're saying about every driver makes mistakes it just seemed in 2010 that when Lewis made his they were at the most vital of times. Lets not forget as we left Spa in 2010 Lewis looked like he might be odds on for the title - a few races and mistakes later and he's playing catch up and never quite got there. That was the difference between Seb and him that year IMO.

Whether he'll ever get his 2007 form back is also another question - Lewis could go out and race in 2007 without a care in the world as it was his rookie year and nothing was expected of him so he couldn't lose. Thats never going to happen again and I think Incubus makes a very good point about the pressure of expectation getting to him sometimes.

Having said that if Lewis is given the equiptment and gets himself into a good rhythm it would be foolish to bet against him however I have a feeling this coming season will be Ferrari vs Red Bull in British GP 2011 style.

 

[Lewywo4]

I believe that too much has been made of Lewis's problems last season, and the reaction of some has been one that, Hamilton's career on a front running team is on the line, if he doesn't get a blazing start in 2012.

 

[Jen]

Lewis will do what he can given the equipment he has and the frame of mind he is in - who are we to judge whether this will be enough?

 

[Blog Zbod]

Lewis' troubles will continue until he takes ownership of his mistakes. He still is in denial and likely will remain so until he's struck rock bottom. He's not got there yet but when he finally does, it probably will be abundantly evident. As David Coulthard said, I've never seen such a fantastic driver driving so stupidly.

 

[Brogan]

I expect he will still be very inconsistent.

Considering his age and this will be his sixth season in F1, I don't think he has matured as much as he should have or as much as his contemporaries have.

What for me was an exciting and supremely skilled driver in 2007, has gradually gone down in my estimation each season, for one reason or another.

 

[mjo]

As much as I hate to say it, I think that it will be another year of mistakes and inconsistency. But I still think he'll win a couple of races though - in other words, much like his 2011 season.

 

[snowy]

From what Fernando said earlier and the fact that Felipe is still journeying for Ferrari I suspect it will be more of the same. Felipe's job is to take Lewis out of the equation. Perhaps the Ferrari will be totally off the pace or the McLaren will be a darn sight quicker than the Red Bull and the Ferrari in qualifying... Or perhaps someone at McLaren will figure out Ferrari/Alonso's tactics and come up with a solution... though I doubt it some how.

When all your attention is directed at obstructing one individual's progress, it makes the job of driving an F1 car a lot easier. You don't even have to finish races!

 

[snowy]

Lewis' troubles will continue until he takes ownership of his mistakes.

Lewis is profoundly good at accepting responsibility for his mistakes. The reason some people are unable to accept this is that Lewis is quite good at creating new situations that tax the minds of lesser drivers and officials. He isn't repeating the same mistakes over and over, he is exploring the width of the court.

It is unfortunate that in 2011 Felipe was given a very specific job to do.

 

[Slyboogy]

I think Hamilton was at his best in 2007 and 2010, 2007 was just a one of a kind season like Vettel in 2011, 2010 he was very consistent in the first of the season in the 2nd best car and right in the title fight, but then many reliability issues you can argue cost one of the main competitors.

Everyone has a blip in their career, Alonso in 2007 + 2009, Raikkonen in 2008, Yamamoto for all of his races, (struggling for examples now), 2011 was certainly his.

I am sure he will bounce back, I saw nothing wrong with him in 2011, he had the speed, race pace, just mistakes by himself and the team.

I nearly forgot to add, theres also the factor of Whitmarsh trying to sabotage the guy to make Button head & shoulders above him. Appalling really. (just playing )

 

[Josh]

From what Fernando said earlier and the fact that Felipe is still journeying for Ferrari I suspect it will be more of the same. Felipe's job is to take Lewis out of the equation. Perhaps the Ferrari will be totally off the pace or the McLaren will be a darn sight quicker than the Red Bull and the Ferrari in qualifying... Or perhaps someone at McLaren will figure out Ferrari/Alonso's tactics and come up with a solution... though I doubt it some how.

When all your attention is directed at obstructing one individual's progress, it makes the job of driving an F1 car a lot easier. You don't even have to finish races!

Yeah, sure, that was Felipes one and only mission