Lewis Hamilton "I'm not Superman."

I would like to archive this thread and re-visit it in 5 years when Hamilton is a multiple WDC.

I wonder what these guys would have been saying about Schumacher circa 1992...

 

+1, I agree Ted, but alas it will never be good enough for some, because they use statistics the way a drunkard uses lampposts - for support, not illumination.

 

Sorry Steve, to say Hammy "beat" FA last year isn't totally right either, the end results were pretty muich equal.

Once FA stopped letting LH in on his set ups, LH has has a harder time of it. LH is not complete, he obviously has some sort of problems setting up the car. He really shouldn't be number one at McLaren. Ron Dennis let his personal feelings for LH lead him to make a bad decision. LH is still learning and needs more time to learn on the technical side. RD has two drivers that have a grand total of two years expericence in F1 between them. For a team that rarely hires rookies, this is a bad move. No one is bashing him. People are simply pointing out his flaws. The hype created last year by the British press was ridiculous, anything less than a WDC will be concidered failure. This is the backlash to last year's Hamiltonmania. It was Hamilton and his management that took over McLaren last year. This is the end result.

 

Lu, I get your point I can see the point's made I'am not blinkered, and I don't consider your post as bashing ,I have never stated Lewis is all round better driver than FA.

All I 'am saying is given the short time he has been in F1 IMO he has shown outstanding amazing driving skill's and to even just be on a par with FA last year is a feat in it's self.

The British press, Mclaren team policy, makes no difference to me and my point, he will learn more, and I'am sure there will be more waiting in the wings like vulture's ready to pounce as soon as he cock's up that's life.

And I'am through defending, let his driving do talking and if I can be bothered I will dredge up old post's that state the contary.

He has made a few mistakes, he is 2nd in WDC in a car he can't set up with Ferrari's car's on form and dont forget Mclaren took a big hit in the pocket last year, so when all said and done I don't think the level of criticism is warranted.

What this is boiling down to is the fact the Mclaren car is not as quick this year, and what I have trouble with is, that this is somehow Lewis fault, because he can't set up a car..and it's only because of FA he did this and that and its down to luck, its clutching at straw's IMO. I have said before I have no doubt LH benefited from FA set up skills but this is only one aspect and it applies to ALL driver's , but carry on single out Lewis he must be good to worthy such fuss.

 

+1
I completely agree with your assessment as it relates to Hami. An excellent talent who lacks the experience to setup an ultra sensitve F1 car. It still remains whether he has the capability to obtain multiple WDCs IMO.

 

The problem is, Steve, that it may not be Lewis's fault directly that this year's McLaren is not as good as the Ferrari, but he does have something to do with it. A number one driver should be working feverishly to help solve the problem and would have made some progress by now (Alonso at Renault this year for example), instead McLaren seems to have fallen back during break (before Spain) and Ferrari has increased the gap. Soon BMW will be ahead of McLaren as well if the trend continues. Many people, and I suspect he might have as well, elevated Lewis's status to that of Kimi or Alonso's much too soon, when frankly, he's simply not there yet. I'd say Lewis has shown as much talent as Damon Hill did in his day. A quick driver that would win only from the front and could be brilliant on certain days. Hamilton has already proven to be a better passer than Hill was, as long as it isn't for the lead. If Alonso were still with McLaren, I dare say they'd be closer to Ferrari than they are now. Hamilton's comment that he is not superman has only served as proof that Hamilton is starting to crack under pressure. He's not experienced enough to handle it at this point in his career but it's his own, and his dad's fault, that he is in this position.

 

Luis, I'am sure he is doing his best, and IMO it isn't bad at all, but as I said that will never be good enough in some folk's eye's.

And it makes me wonder if LH was in a Ferrari this year who would be leading right now, because if it all about set up...

One more thing as I'am about done with this, you say it's his and his dad's fault that he is starting to crack under pressure.

Why is that:? The way I see it, he was simply stunning out the box, took everyone by surpise and now he has to live up to that, that is his pressure ...so on that count what should he have done under drive, sand-bag himself.. tell Ron he is not worthy of such a drive .

 

So what exactly are you saying?

All I said was: 1) With last year's statistics, LH did not beat FA fair and square. 2) LH has great talent, he just needs to brush up his technical knowledge. I have no doubt that LH is one of the best on the grid, in fact I would be disappointed if he doesnt win a WDC some day even though I am not on his bad wagon.

How is that a bashing post? Again read carefully; don't be impulsive just because I exposed your contradictions.

Besides, whats wrong with using statistics to support arguments? Statistics are factual, whereas your arguments are not.

And I am from Hong Kong..... your point?

 

I don't think it's he and his dad's fault that's he's starting to crack, it's he and his dad's fault that he's in the position that he's in. He should have taken more time to learn the technical side of the sport. He could have learned this from Alonso. Instead he does things to de-stablise the team such as disobeying team orders (hungary). Everything Alonso did aside, Lewis still bears some of the responsiblity for the whole row when in reality he started it in the first place. He gets absolved of any blame for the whole thing by the press and many people on here. This is not correct either. I would love to hear exactly what his management was telling him to do during all this, his takeover of the team last year was as ruthless as anyone I've ever seen in the sport. McLaren was on the upswing due to Alonso's development skills. They thanked him by showing him the door in favor of Hamilton and are now paying the price. LH should have accepted his position within the team, learned what he could, then take over, that would have been the wise thing to do. McLaren also should have shown Alonso the respect deserving of a two time world champion that is helping your team win for the first time in years. LH would have been in perfect position to dominate Formula one for many years to come. Win all you can, beat your teammate if you can but accept that you are there to learn that year. Instead he rushes to get the position of team leader and now he's whining that he's not superman because he hasn't delivered. It's his own fault that's he's in this position. Time for LH to man up.

 

It pales in comparison to what Schumacher did at Ferrari.

 

Yeah but even MS didn't have the cojones to do that as a rookie. I doubt even Senna would have as a rookie. LH took complete advantage of the fact that Ron Dennis sees him as a son. How can anyone be equal terms with him on that team in that atmosphere?

 

Hamilton impressed me last year, and he will impress us in the coming years. He will eventually hit his stride.

 

Read the post again "ALL ROUND" better driver take your own advice ..

No problem with that, although not Fair and square...

Again take your own advice, read carefully dont assume you exposed my fault's, because the ironic thing is you did the said thing trying to be clever.

I have no problem using statistic's, and I use them to support my case so why is my argument not..what part do you not understand.. there again dont bother I'am done with it.

There isn't any point with further banter as you have appeared to changed your take with point's 1 and 2.

Talk about contridiction.

 

When we toured the Ferrari factory last year, our guide was Kimi's engineer's wife. Her comment: "He's only 22, just wait." Pretty decent comment, I suspect.

Art

 

Luis, I respect your opinion but he isnt whining, I thought the idea of being a F1 driver was to win at all cost's, as stated in the rule book no team order's. You have your view and I have mine ,and we wouldn't be discussing him if he had done what you think he should have done , and that say's alot in my book...

 

Sounds like whining to me.......

He's the number one now, he's gotta put up or shut up. The idea is to win at all costs but within a team you have two strategies, the optimum one and the next best thing. The optimum one should go to the number one driver. The next best thing to the number two. It's obvious it didn't happen this way last year. If it had, McLaren would have won the WDC. In the end they backed Hamilton and he threw it away.

 

Seems he can't make his mind up if he wants to be Superman or not!

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/formula_1/article3894101.ece
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I would just like to add, does anyone else find it absurd that a 23 year old racing driver facing some criticism is comparing himself to a Nobel Peace prize winning world leader that spent decades in jail because of his views? The ego it takes to do something like that is staggering.

 

Nelson Mandela is actually 89.

 

Funny thing mate is I'm not anti-British. I'm one of the few that would most definitely vote to retain Australia's (and NZ's) link and position with England.

What I am anti is how this poor young talented driver has been badly miss managed by Bernie first (he pushed LH into McLaren against RD's wishes) and then Ron himself. Because of this the press have mad a big mess and LH is now on a loose loose path

I stand by my point, McLaren and LH are both missing Alonso, and LH was not ready for a competitive F1 drive last year. Doesn't matter where he finished (also stand by my view that it was beginners luck) but his mental attitude is now squewed (spelling?) and yes his actions in upsetting Alonso's fuel burn in qualifying last year DID show that he thinks he was ready, and the best thing everybody around could have done was to keep him down a peg or two, so he could slowly learn ALL the skills properly.
Pete
ps: The other thing is look at LH versus his team mate this year ... definitely not standing out. Hardly helps LH handle pressure this over expectation bollocks.

ps2: Also one of my bosses that I most respect was British. We had ofcourse some differences but he was a great boss . He also came to my 21st (yeah it was a long time ago).

 

Amen.

Thanks to the press and again miss-management of LH, LH's head exploded long ago . MS would never have made such a reference!
Pete

 

Excellent post Pete. Ron's remark that they were racing Fernando instead of the Ferrari's in China says it all.

 

Yeah it will be interesting.

First of all the comparison is moot and completely incorrect. When MS first appeared and got everybody excited he was driving a JORDAN, a car that was mid pack at very best, NOT the best car on the grid. MS out qualified his team mate with many years of F1 experience by many places on the grid on a track he had never driven on before!

Yes we all thought MS was going to be WDC, but again the comparison to LH does not stack up. Lets evaluate :
1. MS did very little testing in a F1 car before that Spa race - LH had done hundreds of laps before his first drive, part of the new RD driver training.
2. MS was sitting in (I think) a brand new teams car - LH was sitting in a car designed and raced by a team that has won many WDC's.
3. MS massively out qualified his team mate - LH may have out qualified his team mate, but not by many places on the grid.

MS wins on all counts that I can think off, and comprehensively.
Pete

 

i don't think hamilton should limit himself to mclaren....not this early in his career.

 

I agree with you for once

No point to go on as your last post was disappointingly weak to say the least, you hardly responded to my post.

I am simply answering your question from the previous post, don't get your response at all.