Hi
I have written articles before about various things and some have had included Lewis Hamilton and they have not always been glowing in praise. I never intended the articles to be overly critical but a few people who I assume are hardcore Hamilton fans were very aggressive in their defence of him.
However, because of the fact I was never fully concentrating on Hamilton I never fully explained some of the views I portrayed. So I decided that I would fully explain what I have said and hopefully recieve less of the harsh criticism.
First of all Lewis Hamilton is a brilliant driver. No one in their right mind can deny what a good driver he is. Hamilton on his day could beat most people that have ever sat in a F1 car. Now that last sentence was key. He could beat MOST people. I do not believe he is the greatest F1 driver that has ever been in a F1 car.
His performance this year was I think in my view his most impressive. He really did show some true grit and determination in 2009 that really earned some respect from even his most fiersome critics of which I am not. He threw around what has to be one of the worst cars Mclaren have ever produced and managed to get it to do something and produced a very good season with tools at his disposal. This year he really began to show that legendary status could be his one day.
So far if we are honest he has not done quite enough yet to deserve the status of legend. He has not won enough titles for one thing which obviously is not his fault you cant win 5 or 6 world titles when you have been in the sport for just three years. To be legend you have to not only win the title once you have to be a multiple world champion. I fully expect him to win more titles.
Another thing needed to be classed as a legend is the memorable drive. The drive that will go down in history and will never be forgotten. Schumacher in Hungary in 1998 when he and Ross Brawn pulled off one of the most remarkable drives he have had to seemingly win from nowhere.
Senna in Donington in 1993 pulled around a car that wasn't the best car in the field by far to win after passing 5 cars in just one lap. Nuvolari in 1935 produced possibly the greatest drive in history when we won at the Nurburgring with a car that was old so therefore not the best handling car in the field and had roughly 110 HP less than others in the field. He won the race by around two minutes infront of the more powerful and newer cars.
He have yet to see one of those drives yet from Hamilton. He has had some very good performances especially in the wet for example at the 2007 Japanese grand prix and the 2008 British grand prix. However he needs that one performance where he pulls of the seemingly impossible that will go down in folklore. However that success is another reason why he has not quite earned legend status.
He had the best car in the field the Ferrari really wasn't quite up to the mark that year and therefore they should of been no concern. After a while it was clear that Alonso was not happy at Mclaren and he was going to move. Surely, the team would slightly albeit probably unintentionally supporting Lewis more. He just needed maintain they way he was going and the title would be his and he well, blew it. He really should of never ever let Ferrari back into the hunt and they did and well they didn't need asking twice.
However what no one again can deny is his true ability. He started his career in the best possible fashion in the best car and producing pdium performances race after race and then at Canada to win his first race. Hamilton because of those performances does deserve a special place in the history of F1. Hamilton was in 2009 the best driver on the grid and by a long way.
He also has the habit of surrounding himself in controversy. If you look back at all the races and you think how many times Lewis has found himself in trouble. It's a worryingly high amount. Lets start with one of the less controversial ones which would be the 2008 Japanese GP. He produced a quite simply ridiculous attempt at a pass which resulted in him clattering into Raikkonen and Kovaleinen. It was the first corner on the first lap and it was completly uneeded. He was rightly penalised it was a very bad error.
Then we think about the 2008 Belgian GP which is still disputed now. The chicane cutting incident was in my view a error by a Lewis and the stewards. Lewis has a bit stupid because he simply didn't drop back enough you can't just let them infront by as little as he did and then immeadiatly attack again. It was a silly error and nothing more. The penalty was simply not deserved. In France in 2008 yet again a silly error ensured once again he was penalised for cutting the chicane.
He also gave us one of the comedy moments in F1 where I simply couldn't help but laugh. I am of course refering to the 2008 Canadian GP where he forgot about traffic lights. In the pits the lights where red so Raikkonen stopped as your meant to do. Hamilton didn't see the light or wasn't fully concentrating or whatever reason he continued merrily towards Raikkonen untill eventually he realised but by now it was to late and he simply slide in to the back of Raikkonen and his and Kimi's race was over.
But of course I am just here picking up on the errors of Hamilton. His driving is normally spectacularly good and f coruse he will make mistakes he is not perfect and no one is. He hasn't atleast got involved in some very underhanded sort of things such as Schumacher in Jerez and Senna in Suzuka.
Of course, he has been involved in controversy with spygate and the farce of the Austrailian GP 2009 but on neither of those occasions was Hamilton really at fault as far as we know. Aswell as this Lewis is absolutly brillaint with the media. He got the media on his side early on and apart from when he has had his little run ins with the stewards when they have criticized him they have been nearly universal in their praise.
Lewis is becoming less and less involved with the stewards and that can only be a good thing. The less he is involved with the stewards the better it will be for them. He is becoming wiser and as he does this it will benefit him more on and off the track. As we gets wiser that combined with his undoubted natural speed will result in one of the most rounded drivers we have ever seen.
Lewis Hamilton has made mistakes in his F1 career and some of his fans really do need to accept this. I am a little tired of some of his fans trying to make out that he is perfect because of course he isn't as no one is. What Lewis Hamilton is a diamond still in the rough. He is not the finished article just but he is still brilliantly good. One day he will be the finished article and we could have a second era of Schumacher style dominance.
Hope I have explained myself and am fully prepared for Hamilton fans still to have a go at me
This was...
The Trivium Fan
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