Much of the Formula One English speaking press is UK based and as such, the behaviour of British Formula One drivers – including Lewis Hamilton – often get a less than proper scrutiny. Love Lewis or not, most F1 fans and commentators alike will testify to Hamilton’s undeniable talent, yet almost since arriving in F1 Lewis behaviour off track has been somewhat odd.
The ‘cos I is black’ explanation from Hamilton, when questioned why he had been called before the stewards 6 times in 7 races, has been debated to death. At best it was misplaced comedy, though this rationalisation was only parsed at a much later date following a Hamilton apology.
The infamous tweeting of McLaren’s telemetry by Hamilton at Spa in 2012 and the audacity of this individualistic action both horrified and delighted the F1 paddock community in equal measures. But it is Lewis’ behaviour toward his peers that is causing some comment at present. During driver press conferences, Hamilton is repeatedly the cause of frequent and persistent whispering whilst other drivers are trying to answer questions. His jitterbug manner during these meetings, the relentless tapping of his feet, sniggering behind his hand, playing with his watch and phone, are for many classic signs of someone with ADHD.
This week, Lewis was asked about his view of quadruple world champion, Sebastian Vettel. Lewis’ reply is infused with apparent justification as to why he is but a three times champion. “I have a lot of respect for him, but it’s difficult to assess how good he really is. He’s never been in a team with someone like Fernando Alonso, but always with people like Mark Webber, who was not on his level, and Kimi Raikkonen, who is no longer at the peak of his performance”.
Seven times F1 world champion Michael Schumacher’s achievements was also subject to Hamilton comment recently. Lewis suggested the German driver with the greatest list of F1 achievements had cheated his way to many of them, whilst comparing his own relatively modest, but blameless efforts.
Kimi Raikkonen and Mark Webber have by comparative association been debased by Lewis, who apparently hasn’t heard the wise words of his recent team mate Jenson Button. Whatever the context of Button’s remarks, they sit surprisingly well as an analysis of Hamilton’s present behaviour.
Button himself has so far avoided the lash of Hamilton’s tongue, though having heard Lewis’ remarks after clinching his third world title, Jenson — who defeated Hamilton in one of their three seasons together — observed, “Lewis is undoubtedly very talented. But if you put myself or Vettel in the same car as him, I think Lewis would not have quite as much confidence as he has today”.
Hamilton’s ‘extreme faith’ in himself saw him reported in the German media as declaring his rivals could only beat him when he made a mistake. Further, in Mexico, Lewis compared himself to Muhammad Ali, Usain Bolt and Tiger Woods as sportsmen who stood out in their respective fields.
The examples keep coming. And the image of Hamilton being defined as someone ill at ease with himself. Lewis oft makes reference to Ayrton Senna and how he aspires to become like the great Brazilian.
Yet it appears enough is enough for some F1 writers as the Godfather of Italian F1 journalism decides it is high time Lewis hear some home truths. Leo Turini writes in his blog that Lewis Hamilton is in fact nothing like Senna. Turini, who knew Senna, observes the Brazilian’s hatred of Prost the person, never descended into criticism or belittlement of Prost the driver. In fact quite to the contrary, Senna spoke highly of his French enemy as a worthy on track champion and adversary.
Turini compares other great champions who each made specific and repeated reference to the worthy nature of their rivals. Nigel Mansell who has confessed to wishing he had punched Piquet regularly, always made clear his adversary was a great driver. Schumacher, some say was less than inscrutable, regularly paid homage to Hakkinen’s on track skills.
Hamilton’s consistent criticism of his worthy peers’ abilities, and comparing himself to other sporting greats has the air of someone who is desperate to overcome their own insecurity. Senna on the other hand, whilst often at war with the FIA and the rest of the world, learned to become comfortable in his own skin.
In his inimitable cryptic manner, Leo Turini concludes that the smart F1 champions realised that if they demeaned and belittled the skills and abilities of their rivals, then defeating them was by definition a lesser accomplishment. So Lewis can never be ‘the greatest’ given the lacklustre nature of his current opponents and predecessors — even four and seven times world champions.
In other words, despite all his hero worship, Turini asserts Hamilton is nothing like Senna – and probably never will be.
Oooo… Let the apoplectic ranting commence.
Hamilton will never be remembered in F1 circles as “Sennaesque.” I doubt he will be remembered fondly at all to be honest. His behaviour off track is more suited to boxing than F1. I would still say the only title he can be proud of is 2008. The last couple will be remembered as probably the most dire seasons in F1 for most people. The Mercedes car versus the rest of the field is the equivalent of Barcelona beating Salford City, surely he can’t be that proud of those last titles.
Bwahhhhhaaaaa what a load of rubbish!
I forgot to ask, who since Senna passed has been regarded as ‘Sennaesque’ after they’ve retired?
Schumacher. By many even regarded better as senna.
Not, scheme cheated as did senna Hamilton won his races
Do you seriously think Hamilton is Sennaesque?
What part of his statement was rubbish, besides the Barcelona one?
Alain hit me, Alain hit me!!!
So Schumacher will also not be remembered foundly at all, because he had a rocketship most of the time? And he cant be proud of most of his titles?
“… because he had a rocketship most of the time?”
How did every one of Schumacher’s teammates fare in the same car? Schumacher was dramatically faster in both qualifying and races. BTW, even if they gave Schumacher the newest of parts if both cars couldn’t be fitted, it can’t be the reason for his dominance.
Your full of crap stay of the page if you’re going to talk aloud of crap Hamilton is the best in the whole god dam world 🌎 and the best ever muppet
Get a grip lulu fan boy, the sooner he pisses off and retires the better it will be for the sport, we don’t want all his bullshit politics in this sport, the guy is a jerk and should just piss off some place where people actually give a shit
Let’s take all points one by one
1. On Vettel – he only said what many people already are thinking. If you consider the top 6 drivers at the moment (Alonso, Hamilton, Vettel, Rosberg, Ricciardo, Button), Hamilton has beaten 3 of them and Vettel lost to one of them. Don’t get me wrong, in my opinion Vettel is still at the top along with Hamilton given that Alonso is starting to go past his peak in an uncompetitive car. But Hamilton only said what many people think.
2. On Schumacher – again what many people think. One of the greats, no shadow of a doubt, a great driver, but all this favouritism within Ferrari and by FIA did help him enormously to breaking every single record.
3. On comparison to other greats – He used those names in his psychological game with Rosberg, he did not say I’m like them and he clarified that. Of course people will read between the lines what they want, but factually that’s what he did.
4. On comparison with Senna – aspiring to be like Senna is not a negative. When did having a dream or aspiring to be like someone start being a bad thing? He never said I’m like Senna. He was just jubilant he achieved as much as him but he has also recognised Senna would have achieved so much more had he not died.
5. On belittling other drivers – Why did Mr Turini try to compare Senna’s opinion on Prost with Hamilton’s on Vettel? The fairest comparison would be with Hamilton’s opinion on Alonso. They clashed in 2007 but he has enormous respect for him.
I guess if you’re not very fond of someone you can present things in the way you feel.
You said few times that he’s just said what people think and for me that’s one of the things that most disappoints me about the guy.
There’s no doubt he’s a rare driving talent but I don’t think he’s ever said anything that I’ve found the remotest bit interesting or surprising. I find his every utterance to be ‘expected’ on some level.
I get the idea that the gaffes and trash talk he comes up with occasionally are just ill-advised summations of the previous night’s drinking session convo with his entourage. It’s the sort of stuff that you should keep between you and your mates, not repeat out of context in the cold light of day to main stream media monkeys looking to make mountains from molehills.
Let me rephrase then. He says what most people think…BUT no one dates to utter. Most athletes nowadays are too PR-managed, too involved in politics, carefully tip-toeing around the media minefield. Instead of keep moaning and thrashing Hamilton, I’d say, let’s appreciate the fact there’s at least one guy out there doing some trash talk. And Verstappen is the next…hopefully PR won’t tarnish him.
I concur with your assessment, RogerD.
With respect to the ADHD mentioned in the article, personally, I think that’s the tip of the iceberg.
@Sick:
Haven’t seen you around. Welcome to the comments section.
And what’s wrong with having add or adhd
Nothing whatsoever.
Ok. Good.
The world was happy when he wasn’t winning and now that he is, the criticism gets more.
As a devoted member of the Hamfosi, all I’ve got to say is this….
Keep on winning baby, nothing angers the haters and doubters more than when you continue to win!
L3WIS 🏆🏆🏆
Vettel won a championship in a 5-way battle against more experienced champions. He didn’t beat them in the same car, but his car was only dominant for a season and a half (2011, half of 2013). It looks like 2014 defines Vettel in your eyes.
“I guess if you’re not very fond of someone you can present things in the way you feel”. 🙂
I’m not hiding behind my finger like others. Alonso had said what I always believed. Vettel’s days at Ferrari will define his legacy. For now, he’s doing well, and I start to rate him much higher than his RBR years.
You clearly missed the point of Leo Turrini… it doesn’t matter what the public opinion is or even if that is the opinion of the press what matters is that a great champion never belittles his adversaries because 1) it belittles his own victories over those adversaries and 2) it’s simply not classy at all…
And where did he belittle his adversaries?
“The team had to keep Rosberg happy these last few races” there are many similar quotes from Hamilton and some are mentioned in the article too. And off course it all depends on how you interpret these quotes, and I certainly don’t expect the leader of the Hamfosi to agree with my interpretation, but to me that is a belittling quote and not acknowledging the performance of your adversaries. Great driver, not so great sportsman.
“And of course it all depends on how you interpret these quotes”…
Hmmm which is evidently clear you’ve interpreted them as belittling, ok.
But out of curiosity, does that also apply to Nico and everyone else or is it just Lewis?
Yup for me that specific comment comes across as he was saying “if the team weren’t helping you you wouldn’t have won”. And he could well be right but that doesn’t mean he should have said it in public (especially considering that Rosberg got a lot of energy out of that comment and it fueled his motivation to win the next races). For the same reason Alonso had become a lessor champion when he publicly said something like that Vettel’s World Championships wins were worth less because he hardly had to fight for them. And even though to a certain degree I agree with Alonso but I do not think he should have voiced his opinion in public. It’s more about being a proper and decent sportsman in public than if he is wrong or right (same can be said about the Red Bull engine saga, I agree with their opinion on the Renault engine if only they could have kept that opinion to rumors and not say it out loud).
Vettels titles mean less because he had the best car put there. By far. His words… truth or not, it is belittling
Now that’s not what he said and you know it. You’re twisting words to fit your argument
Fortis, you’re quite funny, and the Hamilton bandwagon thing is a good laugh and all, however… Hamilton does let fly with his tongue considerably more often than most. The thing on Rosberg was a little lame, considering he’d just won the championship. J’know? On Webber and Raikkonen, I sorta agree with him though. Raikkonen obviously is a waste of space at Ferrari (on-track-performance-wise) , and Webber just couldn’t handle Vettel at all after c.2010. It’s just, as a driver, and #d’Champ he probably shouldn’t be saying it out in public the way he is. It is amusing though. I loved when he compared himself to icons of other sports, and then gets beaten comfortably by Rosberg for 2 in a row. He simply needs a GF, I reckon. Or is he going out with that 18yr old?
And the Hamilton hating bandwagon is just as amusing. But hey what can I say other than ….
L3WIS..🏆🏆🏆
I suspect that is probably the main reason I find it hard to like Lewis. His fans can’t put a decent argument together but always think they have won…
I wish I could go out with that kind of 18 year old.
My wife must not see me typing this…
Well if you had care to read the relating comments, then you would’ve seen plenty of ‘decent arguments’ put forth.
But even when a ‘decent argument’ is put forth, the reply will always be the same…
You’re just a Hamilton fanboi…
You’re delusional…
Yada yada yada yada…
Furthemore, what is considered a ‘decent argument’? Because even when was it put forth laden with facts to contradict the original argument, it’s gets dismissed as nothing more than fanboi-ism.
I think he’s just trying to get under Nico’s skin in a clumsy way.
He is what he is: a great driver, lacking some social skills and all the more intersting because of that.
I actually agree with things being said, but there is one driver Hamilton seems to respect – Fernando Alonso. And respect feels mutual, because Alonso also praises Hamilton and belittles Vettel.
Hamilton is a truly great driver (along with Alonso and Vettel IMO), but to be honest, he “only” beat Massa and Rosberg to the title. By trash talking them (along with Vettel, Raikkonen & Webber) he only makes his achievements smaller. Plus his car is more dominant now than Vettel’s ever was.
Still … I don’t like his attitude, by I respect him very much as a driver.
Maybe the reason why Hamilton respects Alonso is that Alonso didn’t throw Hamilton under the bus during the Spygate espionage. I always found it impossible to believe that Lewis didn’t know and the reason why was Dennis was protecting his golden boy.
I’m advising Turini to actually read the interview as he probably didnt got Hamiltons point, he just generally said that you cant judge how good a driver really is and took Vettel as an exampe. Nothing wrong with that and recently he was actually pretty complimentary about Vettel (as he is about Alonso), so his whole argument is very weak. Also his Schumacher statements where in context of the actual question (which nobody made an effort to actually search for that) pretty complimentary. I’m getting the impression that the media is trying very hard to make him worse than he ist.
Furthermore he never compared himself to Senna, he just said that he want to achieve the same things. Thats the same what Vettel is sometimes saying about Schumacher. How bad….
Yes, Hamilton wont be remembered as Senna, because he isnt. But he will be remembered as Hamilton in his own unique way.
Sounds like an angry Italian to me, just like the Aussie who wrote that article recently complaining about the amount of coverage Lewis gets.
Yea… Have you seen the BBC homepage for F1? It is typically 75% Lewis. Not his fault, Fortis, but it shows you the level of hysteria that surrounds the 30yr old. It also goes for the vast majority of other news sites. When one man is the sport, who is the competition? It’s an Opera, and Hard as a Mofo, is lead. Übrigens, Ham has compared himself to Senna. He wants to believe, and everyone else to believe, that he is the heir apparent to Senna: “I’m carrying the baton for both of us”. How anyone can deny that, is beyond me.
You are embarrassing yourself. Your man Hamilton came on the scene and showed no respect right off the bat. He referred to his fellow drivers as “monkeys” and then followed that up by telling his boss to go “swivel”. That was 8 years ago – and still he show no respect. The guy is a twat.
The comments section today should top the 100+ mark…….
Have you seen that your recent articles are below par on comments? Has the interest in the championship battle gone down a bit?
Post an article about Hamilton!!!
PS This is not a dig to Judge, this is in general…and to Mr Turini
Hamilton sells stories and generates massive web hits and mostly its from the usual naysayers.
I never once heard Lewis say that he was like Senna. Sennas sister said he was most like Senna amongst the drivers. Lewis said Seb has not had the quality teammate like he has – Alonso – this is a fact. Lewis also said he won his titles using different methods to MS – again a fact
Lewis also said in the Bild interview that he respected Seb and woul pick him first as a TP but that because of the lack of a proven Alonso type teammate it was hard to conclude how good he really is – another fact
However lets create a story out of elements taken out of context from other sources and present it as the truth, just like the famous RBR ERS components that are about to be grafted on to an unbranded Renault core by Illien
Is there a word for Ranting and trolling at the same time..first off you didnt make or even try to make the case for the tittle of the article.secondly most of your assertions were false or debunk media memes of Lewis.for example
the behavior of British Formula One drivers – including Lewis Hamilton – often get a less than proper scrutiny.
to say Lewis dont get scrutinize is laughable…so you must be trolling
saying that Lewis has odd behavior on and off the track and in 8yrs all you have is 2 incident….the twitting is murky at best because allot was going on at Mclaren so thats a wash….Cos Im black was clearly a joke…but l dont understand why this irks you and the media so much.Lewis has in fact faced racism in F1…spain….and even as a boy in racing in a white dominated carting felt and faced racism…so justified or not it wasnt that fa fetch or odd.
couple of points,Lewis never talks about Button because he dont think he is on his level,but out of respect for fellow Brit ,if asked he will be respectful.Button knows that and is very resentful and Lewis success just drives him mad with jealousy
Lewis is now the most successful British driver,yet some body like Button who hasnt achieved half as much as Lewis, has the gull and the arrogance to chide Lewis about arrogance,now whats that all about….now that you have won shut up and go sit in the corner.
The assertion that Lewis is demeaning to other drivers is false and you havent provided any quotes to prove that.Its more the case that Turini and many in the old establishment type have not fully accepted Lewis domination of the sport,they treat him like a usurper unworthy to even state commonly held veiws like …Vettel is very good but untested in battle with a strong teammate…..and Micheal would do what ever it takes to win,and was found crossing the line many times.
I’m sure if Lewis was a Mercedes corporate robot saying and doing nothing some would be complaining about how boring he is. He can’t win. Same with most drivers.
Slow news week, time for a bash at LH… that’ll rouse the troops. There will be more, winter is coming 🙂
I notice that no-one has taken the same view with Button’s comment. If Hamilton is seen to be belittling towards Webber and Raikonen then is Button not belittling Rosberg? I suspect neither meant it that way!
Long live passion but may common sense live longer
“Hamilton’s consistent criticism of his worthy peers … has the air of someone who is desperate to overcome their own insecurity.” Wow… you should probably leave the psychoanalysis to psychologists.
Who hasn’t been young and brash?
Lewis always struck me as a spoiled brat. Every year he affirms my opinion of his character. Yes, he is fast, BUT, ultimately history will remember him as a jerk who happens to be a multiple world champion.
The only historians who will remember him that way are the haters like yourselves.
However the true historians of the sport will remember him as a multiple world champion who’s one of the greatest to have ever set foot in a formula one car and in doing so, ruffled the feathers of the socialites and uppity up folks who follow the sport who finds his ever move to either be fascinating or cringeworthy.
But like ole blue eyes said…. “I (he) did my (his) way”… With a few blingage, tats and hip hop added to it.
L3WIS 🏆🏆🏆
They say that plagiarism is the sincerest form of flattery, so here goes:
“Bwahhhhhaaaaa what a load of rubbish!”
Enjoy your day…..
Well thank you, glad to see someone appreciates my work…
And the same to you my good man or is it woman?..🤔🤔… Well it still applies
Writing off people who don’t like Lewis as haters is avoiding the argument I’m afraid, Fortis.
For myself, I want to like him as I appreciate his talent, but I find it very difficult to as that talent feels like it is being squandered and he seems unable to accept things not always going his way.
As for being one of the greatest? The coming seasons will determine that I feel. As his current record includes throwing away the title in his first year, almost doing the same in his second year against weak opposition, being nowhere in this third albeit with the odd stand-out performance, then spending three seasons just about achieving a draw against a driver who is never going to appear in the greatest champions list. Even last year his off-track distractions nearly gave the title away.
You can’t help buy think that had they been in his place, drivers like Senna, Prost, Schumacher would have had at least 2 more titles and have wrapped up the last two several races earlier.
And that is the main reason I struggle to like him, the same as I struggled to like Manchester Storm in the 90s and 00s, the talent is there, but the success doesn’t match the talent. Great to watch when they are playing / driving well, but a deep sense of frustration tends to follow.
Man there’s so many holes in that diatribe it’s ridiculous at best.
Well, pick them rather than keeping making fatuous comments! The fact you never seem able to counter my arguments gives me the distinct impression you can’t.
I’m saying it the way I see it. I’m not expecting you to agree but the whole point of this part of the blog is to discuss. [mod] keep comments related to the topic and refrain from name calling.
I fully agree Stephen. I followed Lewis from the GP2 drive and I have to admit that he showed some real driving skill,he had a raw speed in the car and made the thing dance but that seems so long ago. What I don’t like with any driver/sportsman/professional is when they start to believe their own hype, the young Max is at risk here. Being told you are the next big thing,even though you might be, has a big impact on any young person,you become cockey and believe the whole world should be beneath you and this is a major fail in my book. Yes,you have become world class,yes you have beaten your peers and set new records but never forgot your roots,be modest and humble and remember that you didn’t get there alone. Time and again we have heard Lewis talk down to the team over the radio,fail to show at photo ops,ram the board at the podium or just fail to show any class when he has been removed from the top step. I didn’t know how much this is the PR image of Lewis or the Real man as we have seen the other side of the chap,supporting his younger brother,looking after mum and giving time to many young fans and sadly we don’t see more of this side of him. How we deal and handle defeat is the mark of a true great and Lewis can become one but the current image of Playboy/rockstar is sadly putting a tarnish on a deserving champ…imho
1- the driving skills you saw in GP2, is still there. But now that has been refined, but don’t be fool it can drawn upon when it’s needed (Bahrain, Austin 14/15, Japan, Germany 14 etc etc etc)
2- Lewis has never once forgotten his roots and we’ve heard him on more than one occasion talk about all the people who have helped to get him where he is. We’ve heard numerous radio messages after race wins thanking the team, saying that he couldn’t have don’t it without them and encouraged them to work in the same way. Listen the radio message again after Austin or watch various other interviews he has done with Brundle, kravitz, DC et al. Jenson, Rosberg, Alonso, Kimi, Max etc ALL talk down to their team over the radio, don’t hear them being chastised for doing so?
3- Yea Lewis is the only person to miss a ‘photo op’ or ram the position board after the race. I’ve seen everyone do it be it after a win or a loss. Oh by the way, Seb missed the minutes silence and photo op in Brazil, was he not being disrespectful? That was something I noticed no one talked about. But let that had been Lewis, I’d bet my bottom $, it would’ve been all over the news and there’d be an article written here about it pointing out his previous transgressions. Maybe you should be telling Nico how to show respect when he has been removed from the top step of the podium. Well it’s not like he’s been up there a lot.
4- Do you know what a ‘playboy/rockstar’ lifestyle is? If you call what Lewis is doing that, then what would you call James Hunt’s lifestyle?
5- believing own hype?…. Really? That’s for rookies like Max to be mindful of. If a 3 WDC can’t believe the ‘hype’ that he’s one of the best to have ever done it, then when is an appropriate time to do so?
Yes – Stephen Hughes definitely got it right. Almost (I said almost) any driver could win in the Mercedes. He proved only that he was better than his team mate.
Thats a pretty big load of irrationality. ‘you cant HELP but think’ Senns,Prost and MS would have blah de blah? Do you know that MS had exactly th same number of titles as Lewis at the same stage of his careeer? Do you know that MS spent time at Ferrari not winning? Do you know that Senna and Prost spent time in the best car on the grid and didnt win a title? Do you understand the meaning of context?
The success doesnt match the talent? History tells us that to win 2 titles in 2 different cars yars apart is much harder and rarer than winning titles year after year in the same car in the same regulatory era?
Do you know how many champions have won titles in different teams? Clue only one on the current grid.
So maybe save your amateur night histrionics and irrational bias for drivers who have struct lucky to be in the right seat for more than 1 year in succession
At least 2 more titles? you forgot to mention at last 2 more titles if the circumstances had been entirely in his hands, but never mind at least you sound like you have a clue
@Sensei.GT question, how do you remember Ayrton Senna? (if you’re old enough)
Many people, like myself(his death is the earliest memory I have of watching F1), have only started watching F1 after Senna died and therefore idolise him as the greatest driver that have ever lived. The one driver who sets the standard for any other driver and the one who could not do anything wrong. But over the years I have seen some documentaries, seen some races from the 80’s and early 90’s and seen interviews with people who worked with him, who raced against him and who watched him on TV and if there is one thing that I take out of that is that he is far from perfect. Nobody will deny his talent but his personality wasn’t the easiest to deal with either. He was called by his colleagues as over confident and having a dangerous driving style. Even the famous words where he said “If you see a gap and you don’t go for it you’re no longer a racing driver” was something that he himself said a year later to have been said just to rationalize him driving Prost of track in Japan, he later apologized to a lot of people for saying that instead of just admitting that he drove Prost of track (one of those apologies is described in Jackie Stewarts biography). But this is all knowledge you will only get when you research him and actively search for more stories about Senna and it will be the same with Lewis, people remember his success and not his failures or less popular aspects of his career 😉
Ayrton Senna was one of the warmest and most kind drivers I have ever met. Never met Hamilton, and I doubt I will shed a tear for him like I did when Aryton passed on.
Same as Alonso then.
So using the same reasoning the writers insecurity must be behind his attack on Hamilton !
I don’t dislike Hamilton and I think he is a very good drive. I just think he isn’t very smart, as shown by his lack of wit. I also find it sort of strange when someone has to live their life vicariously through others ……….
Am I reading the Daily Mail by mistake? Since when has pychobollocks by reading newspaper reports on the subject been taught at university? The worth of a F1 driver is in his results, not his social media ramblings.
Lewis Hamilton grew up as a racial minority on a council estate and went to an ordinary school. He spent his youth racing, getting ready to race and doing sport to keep fit. To the best of my knowledge he’s never done a media course or read Plato. Whatever the whiners may think, they are not Lewis Hamilton. They haven’t lived his life and they most certainly haven’t got the ability to match his skill on track, either in a car, cart or racing a toy car. None of them have the dedication to achieve a tenth of what Lewis has achieved. Reading their shit and crap like this article is repetative and boring. I’ve heard it all before and Lewis is still winning, earning money and becoming the legend that no one here will ever be.
Probably the most sensible comment on this page (including the original article).
Well done Sir.
Hamilton may aspire to Senna’s achievements but he will never regarded in such high esteem as the great man. His career was cut short. Hamilton will never match Senna, no matter how much he wishes to emulate him.
How would be reacted if vettel said: it’s hard to assess how good he(lewis) is because he only ever drove in top teams.
He’d say, “we will see next season”…😜😜
Have you ever heard of Vettel saying anything like that though? Hamilton doesn’t know when to stop imo. He starts good, even praising Vettel, then he goes on and turns the thing into a criticism. I can see Vettel saying “it’s hard to assess how good he(lewis) is”, but he wouldn’t then say “because he only ever drove in top teams!” I mean, he can say whatever he wants, but this is the general format of Hamilton’s speech. This is his style. I want to think he doesn’t realize how it comes across, but actually he’s the native speaker most of the time.
It’s disturbing how much Vettel’s been belittled over the years by his rivals, especially Alonso and Hamilton, and he himself never says anything bad about them personally or professionally. If they were in a school, we would be saying they are bullying him.
Hmmmm interesting, so Lewis said that and as always he gets vilified and like McLaren78 mentioned above, “it’s something we’ve all said”. Apart from Ricciardo, has he really been challenged by any of his teammates?
So why didn’t anyone say something when Max said the very same thing about Lewis a few races back?
I am sorry , but this article was written by some who clearly and demonstrably hates Hamilton. I mean to go as far back as that Ali G joke “cos I’m black” is really a low blow and the telementery rubbish! Look if you don’t like someone , just say it . Don’t trawl around the sewers looking for crap because you will find it amongst any of the drivers on grid, if you look, Lewis is no exception.
You know what really surprises me ? Lewis never gets the respect he deserves. He is the only multiple world champion on the grid, since Schumacher to be racing with champions won under more than one constructor. Vettel is multiple winner but only with Red Bull. Alonso, a multiple winner but only with Renault. Lewis stands out as unique. He has multiple championships with 2 constructors , now talk about that instead the garbage that someone says he is not Senna!
People like me and fortis 96 stick up for Lewis because we see the double standards when it comes to the way he is treated in the press. Imagine saying someone had ADHD , a medical condition, when you have no evidence apart from conjecture to criticise the man. Lewis may behave the way he does because he is bored. and so what if he has ADHD does that make him a bad person?
In relation to your first point – the tactic of travelling back to irrelevant moments in a drivers’ career, data-mining various mistakes and employing them to underpin a negative narrative – well, that’s been happening to all F1 drivers in history, nay, all sportsman.
As an example; when discussing Schumacher’s COMPLETE career – a career that spans 20 years and over 300 Grand Prix starts – a dose of reductive reasoning strong enough to kill an Aftican elephant is used to say, “Well, Adelaide ’94, so yeah… his career is flawed. But I looove Senna!”.
I think there’s enough evidence to suggest that all top drivers – even presently top drivers like Vettel / Alonso – have been subjected to negative non-fan spin. Armed with that knowledge, why should Hamilton be held to a different standard, assuming equality is he ideal? Why should the media of our time give him free passes?
One could argue that failing to mention the Ali G quip, his Melbourne ’09 lie, his data-Twitter breach, his ’11 meltdown, his “JB doesn’t Twitter follow me, wah!” moments, his “dirt in my eye” ’14 Monaco-spin would be to hold him to a different standard than that suffered by Schumacher, Prost, Senna etc during their careers from the press.
Don’t assume that the media that’s kind to them now were kind during their careers, and that includes Senna. Additionally, they all – in various non-fan quarters – have their entire careers called into question for various racing and non-racing related mistakes.
I feel, personally, what you may be asking for with respect to Hamilton is in fact double standards if the history of the sport is considered in toto.
In relation to your second point, the “he’s not Senna” missives that frustrate you. It’s my opinion that Lewis opens himself up to that with his regular, near-fortnightly (not twice or three times a year) “in-the-image-of-Senna” type rhetoric. I can google Senna/Hamilton/Baton and the results are unending. I’ve no issue with his continual comparisons, but equally I do understand that he’s opened himself up to Senna-fans responding negatively. Vettel seems far more careful with his Schumacher-rhetoric.
Lastly, lightly touching on the final question in your third point, I don’t think anyone said – or suggested given a reasonable interpretation – that having ADHD is “bad” or makes Lewis (or anyone) a “bad person”. That it was raised at all is another matter… but again I feel the article was merely saying certain x behaviours can be symptomatic of y condition. Provocative? Maybe. But Kimi’s “lazy”, Alonso’s “deluded”, Vettel can only drive “blown diffusers” etc.
I personally place Hamilton in the top 10 of all time. With that comes extreme fan-related love n’ hate as well as a media that has parts which may support Lewis without question and other parts that will call his career continually into question. Aside from the trophies, that’s how you know you’re a champion.
People like Moss get no criticism – and how many titles does he have?
The “double standards” argument, if viewing the sports entire history, is stale.
Cheers,
WTF_F1