What do u think of Hamilton?*spoilers*

I still think Hamilton is immensely talented, he has the abilities and the potential to be a very capable driver, but just like everyone else, he still has plenty to learn. IMO, he would have benefitted greatly had he be willing to follow and learn from Alonso. I also think he would be better off had his father, Anthony Hamilton, chose to just be his father, instead of being his manager etc.

 

his dad being his manager is fine but he needs a better PR man and racing mentor, I'd feel a lot happier if my dad was looking after the progress of my career with the amount of shysters out there but I would still need someone who has "been there done that" to mentor me and then a PR firm to help with the media side

 

agreed, Alonso copped heaps from all here, I applauded his first WDC, then thought he was a wanker with a big head and was then unfairly treated by McL and has come back to earth this year.

FA and KR at ferrari would be damn interesting to say the least

I believe Kimi could handle it very well, unsure about Fernando

 

How's this for an attempt at objectivity:

Hamilton is a very talented driver. Heaped with mountains of laurels and praise last season, he came damn close to the Driver's Championship in his rookie season. I don't care how good your chassis is, there's a ton of pressure there. This year things aren't going quite as well, and as is the tendency from our wonderful media, the man they so quickly built up is the same figure they enjoy knocking back down. Lewis has made mental mistakes, and he has made some comments that haven't found favor with everyone out there. But I'm curious how much blame McLaren should take? Kovalainen has basically been a mid-fielder this season, so either he's not that great or the car's not up to Ferrari levels. How about the possibility that Hamilton is trying too hard in a car he knows can't win in a straight fight?

I think it's perfectly fair to scrutinize someone in such a high-profile position. As mentioned, it's a tasteless side dish to the entree of celebrity. As far as LH's dad, he's probably a great manager, but I think that if an athlete is going to ever reach their true potential they need to shed any form of safety net. Earl Woods had the good sense to step back and allow Tiger to be his own man. I firmly believe that Marco Andretti will never elevate from his current plateu unless he leaves the family business.

 

+1 No question Alonso has taken more crap (fully deserved though) than any other driver on this board and I will also venture to say that Montoya has been bashed more viciously than Hamilton.

 

Hamilton's penalty was a close call but I can see how the race officials made the argument that he was carrying too much speed to make the corner. The real problem is that the same criteria needs to be applied throughout the season. No wiggle room here.

In any case, a pass on a chicane is at best an optimistic move. Very, very seldom someone pulls it off with at least two tires on the track.

IMO the issue with Hamiilton is not his agressiveness on the track but rather the lack of ownership of his mistakes and the lame excuses he's made (French GP). Ron Dennis does not help either.

The fact he's too young is total BS. If Hamilton wants to play with the big guys he must act like one. Dennis learned from last year and has granted Hamilton the role of lead driver. Hami needs to stop the whinning and let his performance speak as he has stated a thousand times.

 

If Lewis was driving for Ferrari much of this carping and second guesssing would stop. Life is not always one way or smooth - the guy is highly talented but you also need luck to succeed. Is it time to go back to Massa bashing?...after all, he will make a mistake again at some time

 

Are you certain about that?

As long as he keeps the WDC lead he can make mistake's and I will be happy.

 

+1

 

I seem to have missed that news, can you give a source please?

 

plenty of those in F1 archive, pre 2008 season.

 

Actually there isn't. But, if you like I can dig up an article that states Kovi and Hami are both free to race with no number one status.

 

Hamilton is Lightning McQueen in the Flesh. LOL.

 

no worries Charles. of cos, the team will say they're both free to race each other, but it's just unwritten rules that Hammi's no.1.

for me, both haven't showed whose the capable leader in the team. aside from Hammi's extraordinary drive at Monaco, nothing else is special from both Hammi & Kova.

 

Not officially stated but Hamilton is de facto the lead driver. Dennis may be a lot of things but his is not that stupid to make the same mistake as last year with the Alonso/Hamilton saga. In any case, Kovi is off Hamilton's pace, performance and standings, and most likely out of the title contention.

+1

 

Dennis made this "mistake" a lot of times over his career. Many times he had drivers race each other and fight it out for the WDC when they could have easily had a Number 1 to amass points. Most recently, Hakkinen and Coulthard went at it viciously, whereas Eddie Irvine and Rubbens B were yielding to Schumacher in the final turn, or, ahem, in the pits.

I think Dennis likes it like this--it gives him some kind of moral superiority among F-1 owners.

 

I'll clarify my comment. The same mistake of having a rookie rock the boat. Senna and Prost's fallout was different IMO as Senna was a race winner when he joined Mclaren. In any case I agree that Dennis should have know better with his prior experiences.

I don't remember Hakkinen and Coulthard's feuds being vicious. I do recall Coulthard moving over to let Hakkinen pass though.

Dennis does not have any moral superiority over anyone at F1. Last year comes to mind.

 

We shall see...no doubt ferrari will win constructors but I would be very surprised...lick the tires of my Scud when it arrives...if massa is wdc. Gee, I would even buy a massa hat

 

Hami last year was under little pressure because not much was expected of a rookie to take on a 2x WDC.
That lack of pressure allowed him to react freely so we got to see his natural talent.
This year the pressure and responsibility has mounted so his attitude has changed.


Starting back 10 positions just increased this pressure forcing more mistakes.
The talent is still there he just needs to mentally relax a bit.

Its just a maturing process.
The best is yet to come.

 

Bang on David, pity more can't see it that way.

 

+1

 

Is it "can't" or "won't" see it that way.

I believe Hamilton's been doing decent but not great. He will mature, he has lots of time. Isn't it called the sophomore curse when you set the world on fire your rookie season but fall back a little in your second? There's a reason there's a term for what is happening....its happened many times before. I don't necessarily want to see Hamilton win, but you cannot take anything away from the kid performance wise. If you don't like him personally, that's a different story...and I think that's where a lot of the negative comments are coming from.

Mark

PS: Massa is the most negatively talked about man on this board. There have been countless threads specifically bashing him as well as countless other threads that turned into Massa bashing threads.

 

A fair point, I can not believe that I'am still having this debate after so long, but I suppose that in itself say's alot.

I dont dislike Massa, but I tend to find that it's the hard core Massa fan's that attack Lewis, probably out of paranoia.

 

I do agree with David ... but this just proves that he should NEVER have started in McLaren as effectively they are wasting one of the bests car on the grid while he learns the ropes [Everybody has to, JV was a little different because CART was then a reasonable series]. Ofcourse if he had been mature enough to just control his "head" size and watch and learn from Alonso he probably would still have finished where he did in the WDC, and the team would have won one!!

In years to come he will look back and realise his (or his fathers) mistake.
Pete

 

Hardcore Massa fans are the nicest fans in all of F1, just like Massa is the nicest guy out of all the F1 drivers. Its probably the Alonso fans who are harshest towards Hamilton. Last year I wasn't too sure about Hamilton, I thought he got all the luck and had the fastest car, but this year he has had some really awesome moments. Like his three stop strategy in Turkey, his pace was amazing, he was right up there with the Ferrari's on a track that they dominated last year. In Australia he dominated, really put Kovalainen in his place and in Canada before the safety car he had a huge lead over everyone.

Hamilton is the real deadl, at least as good as Alonso maybe even better, and he doesn't need to drive a Torro Rosso to prove himself.