Has HAM lost the fire? (Spoilers)

After seeing Russel and Bottas do well this weekend 4/24/22.

Has HAM lost the fire? Was there too much disappointment/disenchantment from last year?

sjd

 

I don’t think he’s lost the fire, he’s lost having the best car on the grid. In an equally performing car, he’s not as competitive. Russell and Bottas proved that today


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I think he’s fine as ever. The car is just bad. Russell has just been getting lucky. He will come back.

 

He's been faster than Russell most of the time. He still has it but I don't known if he will be able to keep the motivation.

 

Lewis needs more coddling from Toto than what Russell needs.

Toto to Lewis after Imola 2022 "Sorry Lewis, it's our fault.....not yours."

wtf???? Really!!!! What happened to that British "stiff upper lip" (????)

Russell realizes he's got a crappy car but he's smiles and sunshine and beating Lewis in the points. No denting his day IMO.

I'm not directing this statement at you @DeSoto.

 

They were pretty even for 2 races and pretty far apart for 2…
Hamilton probably whining too much right now. He needs to suck it up


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Let’s hope for his sake and let’s also hope for his sake he is not reading fchat too much or he might go in deep depression.


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Inability to pass cars and drivers supposedly much slower than him, and considering how much better George is doing, absolutely. He said yesterday Merc needs to find 1.5 seconds if they want him to win another title. I.e. fastest car by considerable margin...

 

I think the desillusion of Abu Dhabi was a watershed in Hamilton's career.

He has maintained a high rythm for years, but demotivation has now set in his subconscious, IMO.

 

If he was disillusioned he'd have quit before the start of the season.

 

He is certainly "fragile."

Gasly, not so much after his demotion from RedBull. He's kept it together consistently for 3 years straight with Alpha Tauri.

So has Alonso.

And both don't need the "social media" quagmire of "self righteousness" or "belonging."

 

Turns out that they were running a different wing on his car. So they are using him as a mule. Like last race, they used the sensors on only his car. I’m sure he has an agreement with Toto and his mechanics on this.

 

Well, we don't know what Hamilton is thinking; I only speculate.

He signed another 2-year contract during last season, and maybe want to see it through.

It's always dreadful to see a sportman once famous decline to quickly.

If you remember, I announced that Hamilton's decline had started early last season.

He has been forthright when he spoke about the mental health issues affecting individuals in sport.

People laughed it off as another sign of weakness, of course, but there may be some truth there.

 

Each individual is different, as you must know.

 

He acted the same way at Mclaren when he didn't have the car under him..

 

People laughed it off because it sure came at a very convenient time.

 

It's his first season in F1 driving a car that can't compete for race wins. His performance today following Gasly for an eternity was humiliating.

 

That really speaks to Gasly's character. Can you imagine what is going on in Bottas' head? He gets the boot from #1 team Merc and says nothing. He takes it like a man. Then ends up Bottas and his car are faster than Merc! The Japanese call it "Bachi." I'm happy for Bottas. I bet mentally he is in a better place than he has been in the last few years at Merc.

 

Well, most of the time anything he does, anything he says, anything he wears, anything he likes is derided, so it's always a "convenient" time for his detractors.
You just have to look at the Abu Dhabi aftermath.
When he went silent for weeks, and they were rumours he may not come back, he was labelled as a quitter, someone with no guts, who feared being dominated by Russell, etc ... His sudden departure would damage his "legacy" and more nonsense ...
Now that he is still racing and had a few bad performances, the same lobby says why didn't he leave, he is over the hill, bla, bla, bla ...
The amount of criticism the guy is getting is unbelievable.

 

Agreed. It might be time to edit his back tattoo.

"Still, I (wish I could) rise"
"Still, I (wanted to) rise"
"Still, I (need a dominant car to) rise"
"Still, I rise (just not to the podium)"

 

Kind of fun to see Lewis stuck with a third rate car this year, quack, quack, quack.

I doubt his car will be this limiting at the end of the season.

 

Yes, some of the criticism Hamilton gets is unfair. But suggesting criticism of Hamilton is some widespread phenomenon is colored by you being on a Ferrari forum, where criticism of Hamilton is released more freely, because he's not one of the teams drivers. The broader F1 message boards don't reflect this. If you tell a joke about Hamilton on other forums, accusations of racism won't be far behind, whereas Vettel fans take jokes with a grin.

I'll be blunt and say it out loud: Hamilton has a victimhood complex. He thinks everyone is out to get him, even with a British media that adores and defends him when he's clearly wrong. What makes the complex even worse are his very worst toxic fans, who throw wild accusations of racism and conspiracy theories to explain away his struggles when they occur, like we saw when he lost championships in 07', 16', and last year in 21'. At times, Hamilton himself has suggested targeting by officials and sabotage at his teams.

Hamilton just doesn't take responsibility and defeat as maturely as other drivers, much like Vettel. It's his weak point and has been from his debut. Makes it difficult for some fans to appreciate his accomplishments and talents. Abu Dhabi proved he still has that flaw last year, when you'd think he'd lost his only WDC from the way he behaved in the aftermath.

This is why when the car isn't perfect, Hamilton falls apart at times like Vettel. He (like Vettel) feels entitled to the killer car at all times. He's not like Alonso and Kimi, where he can mentally cope with fighting for lower tier points, and be proud of it. It's either winning or nothing for Hamilton. That's why his driving can be much sloppier than other lower tier cars when he finds himself down the order.

 

Yep, he can trash the car like Vettel when it isn't perfect, or just not care.

 

Yes, does seem he's "Lost the fire".
When you've won 7 World Championships, missed winning #8 under questionable circumstances, and suddenly get a new car that's at best 4th fastest on the grid it's understandable to be demoralized and less-than-fully motivated. Excuses? Reasons? Whatever. Hopefully he'll at least have some fun fighting in the middle of the pack, hoping for good luck like Russel benefitted from today, until Mercedes figures out the magic ingredient(s) to put their car closer to the front.

Reminder: Michael Schumacher had one podium (3rd place) finish in his 3 years with Mercedes, being outscored all 3 seasons by Nico Rosberg.
Lewis is only 4 years younger than Schuie was in 2010, so while neither was young and fresh he should still have time to get the fire back.

 

Excuses
He’d just got whipped