Hamilton deserves more respect

Hamilton just has too much "baggage" i.e. don't want to get into P&R.

 

^^^
What "baggage" does Hamilton have?
He has "beliefs", which many people share.
"Baggage" is an arrest record, IMO.

 

The baggage is bad for the sport.

MBS even tried to implement rules against it. Domenicali was against "shutting" down drivers beliefs.

All I can say is, look at the NBA during the COVID-19 pandemic when ALOT of people were home. Viewership dropped immensely because of the "baggage" players brought on the court.

Collin Kaepernick got "blackballed" from the NFL because of his baggage.

It all depends on what side of the isle you're on.

 

I agree that by recruiting Hamilton, Ferrari would be seen as accepting with many of his social and ethical positions.
That came slowly during his time at Mercedes, but it would be seen an enormous endorsement for the Italian team.
I think that "baggage", for lack of another word, now comes with the territory for Hamilton.

 

I don't give a rat's *ss about a driver's political beliefs or lack thereof--don't know and don't care. All that matters to me is how they perform on the track.

 

There is that.

 

I have the same opinion, but it's still true that activism is challenging for many people.

 

Its hard to tell who has the baggage sometimes, the organization or the individual.

 

The Individual carries it......the organization condones it.

Bottom line is this "baggage" ends up hurting the balance sheet in making a profit and upholding the maximum dollar amount to the shareholders.....if you believe in the CAPITALISTIC ideology.

 

Also, our society is increasingly dealing with people preaching different values, who now invade places that were safe from them.
The political arena has mostly rejected them, so now influencers, whistleblowers, ecowarriors, and other activists are using the large audiences that are sports and entertainments to spread their messages.
Viewed worldwide, F1 is, like football, or the Olympics, an ideal platform for militants to reach millions.
In F1, Hamilton and Vettel 'to a lesser extend) have been the trailblazers in that. Who doesn't remember the objectionable T-shirts worn once on a podium, blaming deforestation on public authorities or accusing the police, for example?
It won't be long before F1 is seen as an willing accomplice in this. That's the kind of "baggage" we are talking about, IMO.

 

Absolutely spot on.

 

Hmm, Ham to SF stories in the times today.
How about….Carlos out, Ham in as what in Soccer we would call a player/manager?

 

How, then, does someone spread his values except by putting those values in front of everyone's eyes and having society en-the-large accept, deny, or castigate.

This is, in effect, our 1st amendment to free speech. Free speech means:: you get to blabber off useless stupid crap in front of an audience, but a) they don't have to listen, b) they don't have to accept, and c) you get to <ahem> "enjoy" to crowds reaction afterwards.

The real question is why has everyone become so thinned skinned ??

 

Indeed it is.
Frankly, I don't consider Hamilton much of an "activist" as far as pro athletes go...

 

More narcissist than activist.

 

In a modern democracy, there are proper channels and legitimate platforms to propagate new ideas, and have them discussed.
There are organisations, political parties, media, or lobbies that were created just to do that.
I would suggest there is no need to invade neutral areas like sport, entertainment or education to discuss contentious topics.
That is my opinion.

 

^^^
That's great...but amazingly naive. And I'm curious what you fancy as "proper channels" since most of those "channels" (media, political parties, etc...) are, for the most part, biased at best and corrupt at worst.
Athletes get dragged into "activism" all the time...by other athletes, usually. We just lost one of the greatest activists, Jim Brown. He (Brown) was VERY critical of Michael Jordan for his lack of activism. Ditto Tiger.
It's nice that you think athletes should stay in their lane, that is pretty hard to do these days, especially for athletes of color.

 

Will this thread be locked when HAM retires? Please?

 

No. This site will lose half of ad revenue.
Plus the "Hamilton retired" thread would be bigger.

 

P & R is the Fchat juggernaut. This thread is chicken feed in comparison.

 

People find out about the P&R through this thread.

 

I'm on the fence with Hamilton. He is a very good driver there is no doubt of that. But, I do doubt his ability to take an underperforming car and make it great. When the car is not good, he is not good. Mercedes has given him a superior car for years, and he has exploited it to the maximum. Going to Ferrari now, when arguably his motivation is lower than ever, I just don't see as a net positive to anyone - especially Hamilton. For Ferrari they would be able to use him for marketing etc... sure. It would bring a Hollywood edge to road cars and fashion... but I seriously doubt it will help with their racing success. HOWEVER if Hamilton moved to Ferrari to race in LeMans - and do the occasional F1 appearance, then that would be huge. I'm clearly not a fan of his modern look... I much prefer the Ron Dennis Hamilton, clean and neat appearance. but non of that really matters if you dont win. Hamilton has done the work so he gets to live his life. if it ends up with Ferrari, I just have a hard time seeing how it will work well.... Unless he brings some engineers with him.

 

Senna had a deal with Ferrari in principal when he died. Di Montezemolo, met with him before Imola to work out further details etc, but it never got papered up Senna was distracted by Benetton and their cheating with Traction Control... I'm not really sure if Senna At Ferrari would have worked well? perhaps with the 95 car, him and Berger, but I have my doubts.

 

Individuals leveraging group identity for personal gain is BS.
Hamster's a master.