Lewis Hamilton... the journalist?

This is an interesting development:

BBC Sport - Lewis Hamilton joins BBC Sport's Formula 1 line-up as a columnist​

I wonder how forthcoming he's going to be.

All the best,
Andrew.

 

It should be an interesting insight into his opinions and hopes for each race along with his likes and dislikes of each circuit, combined with some basic, generalised set-up information that will be required for the car (don't expect any detailed information though).

This might surprise a few but I look forward to reading his column!



(So long as he doesn't keep including his stupid b:censored:y dog and his stupid b:censdored:y girlfriend in the column and this sort of nonsense (From: You either love me or hate me - Lewis Hamilton | Formula 1 | Formula 1 news, live F1 | ESPN.co.uk ):

Lewis Hamilton aspires to leave the same impact on Formula One that Ayrton Senna did in the 1980s and 1990s......

.......In an interview with the Daily Telegraph, Hamilton said he hoped to one day achieve a similar level of "greatness".

"When I speak about greatness, I just know the stories about Ayrton Senna, the way he would walk into a room, the aura he had, how he carried himself, how he drove and inspired people, inspired a nation - that is greatness. I hope that I will have that greatness." )

 

That will never happen, simply because he's British. I can't think of a single person who us Brits put on a pedestal like the Brazilians did with Senna. It's also quite hard to have an aura and air of mystery when you keep tweeting pics of your dog and asking your followers to buy your girlfriends latest album. I have noticed that his tweets have started getting religious, so maybe he thinks that is how to be like Senna?
I think Lewis is an incredible talent and is probably the fastest driver on the grid - I just think he's a bit of ****** sometimes, but maybe that's because I'm a grumpy middle-aged man?

 

Hamilton IS ******; the greatness described that he aspires to isn't something you work on and achieve.....either you have it or you don't.

 

I don't think he's ******, but he is wound up a little too tightly.

However, I agree with your assessment on that sort of greatness being innate and not learned.

All the best,
Andrew.

 

So was Senna when around 'the people' ie. anyone who was not a child. That's how I understand it anyway.


I don't know, can Lewis be Senna/Schumacher level of legendary? If Lewis wins a few years of championships I believe he can. The thing with Senna IMO was yes he was fast but not stupidly faster than Prost. Hamilton/Alonso together was a great example of a similar pairing only I believe now Hamilton is experienced and sharpened to a zenith only Alonso, Senna, Schumacher, Gilles know. The time for him to do it is now. This is 1996 Ferrari all over again IMO. Or we could all be surprised and see Nico/Hamilton battle royale and we have late 80s mclaren levels of teammate drama.

 

People DID say the same thing about Senna being a certain member of the male anatomy while he was alive...some still do after his death.

I don't think it's wrong for anyone to aspire to greatness, but I would side with Anthony Ferrari's opinion that a lot of Senna's reverence was due to his nationality and the support of his nation. I don't think even the royal family receives that type of embrace in Great Britain.

Hamilton has a lot of talent. He needs to convert that into wins and championships while also placating his fellow grid mates. His driving style prior to last year was such that a reported "edict" was developed among fellow drivers not to let him pass under any circumstance (Alonso supposedly was one of the few who was not part of this...Button was so that may explain why there is a strain between those two while LH/FA are in the mutual admiration society). While he played fair last year, I feel he was possibly too cautious in not pissing other drivers off. If he can maintain his aggression, yet mind his manners in how he passes (i.e. don't force other drivers to either let him pass or risk crashing) then he can certainly raise his game.

He has some work to do to be recognized among the sport's greats though...

 

So what you're saying is that driving-wise, he's undoubtedly a modern Senna haha. Senna would put anyone into a wall or simply put them in a no-win situation if they tried to make a move on him, someone was going to either a) crash both of them out, or b) yield the position because they didn't want to crash, the latter seemed to usually be the way it played out. I'm just glad no one recently has been seriously injured from various drivers and their shenanigans. My wife loathes Senna btw, can't say I fully agree with her as he wasn't different from many great racing drivers.

 

That would be fairly accurate. Ayrton was a ruthless driver who piloted his car like nobody else belonged on the track with him. I would only say that it's as hard to call Lewis a "modern Senna" as it is to call Kobe Bryant a "modern Jordan". I think they are simply similar types of performers primarily separated by their achievements. LH idolizes Senna because he relates to his driving style. Same with Bryant for Jordan.

I completely agree that Senna drove with very little regard for his fellow competitors.

 

While it's somewhat true that he (Ayrton) believed it was his God given right to win, how many of the armchair QB's here actually saw him drive?

For me at least he was simply head & shoulders above the others. I've said before, *nobody* drives off into the distance in FF - He did regularly. [So far ahead in fact that his engine was protested (and found legal) more than once.]

He was *beautiful* to watch.

Beyond Jimmy (of course), Gilles was the only other guy who could do that IMO.

Cheers,
Ian

 

Plenty of drivers go off into the distance when leading. All the time really.


Prost had more fastest racing laps.

Prost's average finishing position was for 1988 '1.5' and 1989 '2.15' vs Senna's 2.43 and 2.89.

Prost's average points were for 1988 6.56 and 1986 5.06 vs Senna's 5.88 and 3.75.


I'm not saying this to degrade Senna, he was clearly a genius and I can only live vicariously through those who followed F1 then and lived his greatness. Prost was simply his statistical equal in everything other than pole positions, but even then I believe Prost set his car up more for race pace than qualifying to somwhat of an extent. Six of one, half dozen the other.

 

Who's Kobe Bryant? Also, I had no idea that Eddie Jordan was in any way revered. Also, he was a manager rather than a driver...

All the best,
Andrew.

 

I agree with this.

I'm tired of the Hamilton-Senna comparisons.They're both got yellow helmets and have/had the tendency to drive a little reckless. The end. Hamilton hasn't done nearly enough to be compared to Ayrton Senna, IMO.

If anything, Hamilton, in his current situation, has more of a chance to be compared to Schumacher (building an uncompetitive team into a dominant force). That's something that Senna never did or apparently had any desire to do, he would do whatever he could to weasel out of a contract and into the best car - even going as far as to drive for free...

 

Great post.

Prost is one of the most underrated drivers. You could make a strong case for him being the best of all time when you look at his statistics and the teammates he raced and beat.

I hope that was a joke!

 

Don't get me wrong, I absolutely loved his driving style and passion and believe him to be the ultimate F1 driver. I'm just stating that there are many who do not see things the same as I do.

 

"Daredevil" vs "technician"...Senna was more exciting to watch, while Prost approached the race in a meticulous, methodical fashion. Clearly, both used their different styles to achieve F1 greatness.

 

I can mostly see/agree with all you have said in this thread.

 

lol...you surprise me sometimes with the way jokes go over your head.

 

Heh, if it went over my head, I would have said something along the lines of "ARE YOU AN IDIOT? HE's ONE OF THE BEST EVER!!!11"

 

Well, it was a little dry, I suppose. That might have worked better in person.

I don't follow basketball at all, so was only vaguely aware of who he was anyway. In any case, I couldn't name more than five basketball players and I think four of the names I know are retired.

All the best,
Andrew.

 

+1

However, not in the way Ayrton did. In the "baby" formulae at least..... Given a level playing field, he was quite simply *way* ahead of the rest. Brutal? Sure. "No prisoners"? Sure.

Were Fangio, Jimmy, Gilles, The Schu, the list is endless, ever the "perfect gentlemen"?

Outside of, maybe, Moss, they were all out to win... GTF out of my way!......

Cheers,
Ian

 

lol...good point.