Hamilton doesn’t want Schumacher’s “tainted” legacy

2010 F1 season

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Michael Schumacher’s grilling at the hands of the media over the 2006 Rascasse controversy provoked many comments on F1 Fanatic yesterday.

Several of them drew comparisons between Schumacher’s track record and those of other drivers like Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton. Today Hamilton said he wouldn’t want to be remembered in the same way Schumacher is:

To be potentially tainted by something like that would be really devastating for me. That is definitely something I don’t want to be remembered for.
Lewis Hamilton

Hamilton has, of course, had plenty of brushes with controversy of his own – most infamously in the Australian Grand Prix last year, where he apologised after lying to the stewards over an incident with Jarno Trulli during the race.

Hamilton told Reuters he wanted to be remembered for his race craft:

I am not really bothered if I am remembered or not. But clearly I am going to be remembered. I am part of the sport, I’m part of its history, I am a world champion.

I think as I am going to be anyway, I would like to be remembered in the best way and the best light. I want to be remembered as a fair driver as a clean driver and one that always drove with my heart and battled through thick and thin to score the points and the championships I will hopefully earn by then.
Lewis Hamilton

Hamilton added that racing against Schumacher “doesn’t do anything for me whatsoever” whereas having the chance to race against his hero Ayrton Senna would have been “special”.

It’s fascinating to hear Hamilton speak this frankly about his own reputation and have a bit of a dig at another driver – especially someone with Schumacher’s record of success.

Over to you

Do you agree with Hamilton’s assessment of Schumacher’s reputation – and his own? Have your say in the comments.

Michael Schumacher still refuses to explain 2006 Rascasse controversy

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Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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203 comments on “Hamilton doesn’t want Schumacher’s “tainted” legacy”

  1. Errrr… Lewis?

    Thanks to your behaviour with Alonso at Hungary, Aaaaand the “monkeys at the back” comment, aaaaaaaand Autralia 09, aaaaaaaaaand apologising without really apologising, aaaaand slating the team who gave you the most gilded path into F1 that any driver has ever been given over the live radio like a petulant child…

    You’re already in the same tainted boat as Schumacher. Yours isn’t as big, or as luridly obvious as his. But it’s there.

    1. MacademiaNut
      13th May 2010, 17:09

      His spat with Alonso has no relation to this, these are fights within the team. Alonso chose to take it further by blocking him in qualification. People sticking to their contract, serving the #1 driver etc., are all within the team incidents. Same goes for “slating the team…”. In the spur of the moment, everyone makes noises. You have never shouted at your friends/family? That’s part of racing – someone got the strategy wrong, did not work out, the driver gets upset.

      The one thing I would give is the Australia 09 incident. That affects things beyond the team – the race. He apologized, but not enough. May be. I don’t think his legacy is anywhere close to be as tainted as MS (Monaco incident, intentionally crashing to win WDC, the list can go on).

      1. Oh he’s nowhere near as bad as Schumacher, I pointed that out.

        But if he thinks he’s got any chance of being remembered as a “fair and clean” driver, then he’s more delusional than even a lot of his most ardant detractors would claim.

        1. I don’t see why. He hasn’t really done anything under actual racing conditions that was that bad. In fact, his racing tends to be always fair and clean.

          1. Remember Fuji when he “brake tested” Webber under the safety car which led to Vettel ramming Webber and taking them both out of the race.

            I will disagree with you that “his racing tends to be always fair and clean”. This is your subjective opinion and not a fact.

          2. @Brake Bias-

            The very terms ‘fair’ and ‘clean’ in the context of F1 racing are by definition subjective. Theres no way they could be applied in a strictly factual manner.

          3. Hallard, then the author I quoted should not have started his sentence with the his subjective opinion “In fact”. That “fact” is his subjective opinion about LH being fair & clean – a “fact” that I do not subscribe to as that is my opinion.

        2. he has done worse running at the back of raikk at montreal maybe was tthe worse or… alo…

          1. Running into the back of Kimi was a racing incident, not taking him out of the race on purpose to win. Kimi crashed into Sutil in Monaco, should that make his career tainted? No…

          2. Indeed, Hamilton hardly ran into Kimi on purpose and many drivers have also pointed out that the lights are very hard to see when you are changing 20 settings on the car as you leave the pit box, It was as much the teams fault for not telling Hamilton that the exit was closed as it was Hamiltons for not noticing. I clearly remember that another driver went in to the back of hamilton after he had hit Kimi so it was clearly not just Hamilton having a problem.

            Now compare this incident to Schumacher taking Hill out in an incredibly dangerous purposeful move…..

          3. @Lee

            And lets not forget Hill taking Schumacher out deliberately at Monza, 1995.

          4. That was clearly a mistake. Hill didn’t stand to benefit from taking Schumacher and himself out, quite the opposite.

      2. Oh please. Hamilton’s list of serious infractions is already long. Unlike acting ‘in the moment’ on the racetrack, Hamilton’s lying to cheat Trulli out of his points was premeditated and unforgivable.

        Frankly I think the pathetic British media are the only ones who keep this issue alive – no one else really cares. If Schumacher were British he would be regarded as “scrappy”.

        1. this is true; the media has a huge role to play in all this. in fact it has the only role to play given that reputations are earned purely on the media’s say so, and legacies are cemented in books written by the very same journalists.

        2. “Hamilton’s lying to cheat Trulli out of his points was premeditated and unforgivable.”

          To me personally that was the turning point of what I thought of Hamilton as a professional driver. His true colours were painted on the surface. Although I dont deny that he is an amazing driver, he is not really a clean and honest driver.

          A lie is a lie, and he got away with it with an excuse. “Somebody told me to lie”… haha.. There are limits to what your team can and can not make you do, and there is always a personal choice of executing any action or inaction suggested upon you. In terms of cleanliness and trustworthiness, to me Hamilton is pretty much in the same category as Piquet. I still respect his driving and i will not let that blind my judgment, but I will also never forget about it.

          1. According to your opinion, MS is also a liar and cheat.

    2. BeyondThePale
      13th May 2010, 17:22

      Haha, absolutely hilarious. Either LH is pulling a joke on us, or has lost all sense of reality.

      1. Bigbadderboom
        14th May 2010, 12:31

        OR…..is the lack of influence and Lewis’s comparitive inexperience in dealing with the press unaided showing through here.
        Lewis get your foot out of your mouth!!!

    3. @hairs. Im not a fan of Lewis or Schumi, but to say Lewis’s reputation is as tainted as Schumacher’s is ridiculous. No driver has ever pulled moves as despicable as adelaide 94, jerez 97, austria 2002, monaco 2006.. and not to mention the dirty internal team politics, etc.

      I agree its stupid for Lewis to make these statements, but if there were world titles given for the dirty/low life tactics in f1… then Schumi would win more than just a mere 7 championships.

      1. “No driver has ever pulled moves as despicable as adelaide 94, jerez 97, austria 2002, monaco 2006…”

        Really???

        http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kh1WxQmst2o

        http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjfwRrvtlNw

        1. To be fair to Ayrton Senna in that 1990 video. He said before the race after qualifying in pole that the pole position on the grid should have been on the other side where Prost was in second. He would therefore go for the inside at the first corner and it was up to Prost to get out the way if he was there…obviously Prost didn’t. :P

          Lets face it, Senna was a man of his word.

          1. So if Schumacher had said before Jerez “if Jacques tries to pass me, there’s no way he’s getting by”, that would have been okay?

            Bearing in mind that some claimed that Hamilton’s “No-one will ever pass me around the outside again” after Massa did it in Hungary was proof that he deliberately tried to run everyone off the road in Fuji.

          2. That’s a fair point Icthyes.

            I guess the difference is that Senna didn’t turn into Prost (Senna was on the inside), Prost turns into Senna.

            Schumacher turned into the Williams in ’94 and ’97…

            But I guess each situation is tainted by bias towards the drivers from each fan.

            These events give us memorable moments though. :D

          3. It’s true, Senna did some bad things in his career too but they don’t get remembered like Schumacher’s.

          4. I agree with Icthyes and TommyB.

        2. Senna’s move in Japan was questionable, it could be a racing incident or it could be intentional.

          I have no idea what point you were trying to prove with the second video.

          In Schumi’s case however, they were blatantly intentional. In 94 his race was already over, and then he took hill out as soon as he was getting past him. 97 needs no explanation either.

          1. It was intentional. He said that Prost wouldn’t get past the first corner if the Frenchman got there first. Prost hadevery right to get the better start and into the first corner, but Senna didn’t lift for a corner that wasn’t usually taken at full throttle.

          2. Senna said that he would hold the line. Prost could have not cut across Senna too …

          3. it was only fair, it was revenge for what prost did the previous year. If hill had have wiped schumacher out in 1995 to win the championship, i dont think anyone would be bothered about 1994 one anymore.

          4. You guys didn’t watch the 1989 Suzuka GP, did you? What Senna did to Prost in 1990 was payback. Shumi-the-cheat, on the other hand, is just a low consumate cheat that needs no provocation to pull out his antics.

          5. @Antifia-

            That’s a weak point. That in no way justifies what they did.

        3. @Xanathos

          The first incident was both drivers fault, Senna could have lifted off and Prost could have given more room. But as has been said by others there was more to this incident than the drivers actions.

          The second incident is a non incident in my opinion and is something that has been seen an many occasions, a bit naughty but not outrageous.

        4. I see you failled to notice the one in between 88 and 90 when Alain replied the favour to Ayrton :P

      2. We want turbos
        14th May 2010, 2:10

        It was all to do with the politics at the time! F1 was under the rule of the French mafia!!! Senna got pole so they decided that pole should be switched to the dirty side of the track!! Pole was usually on the clean side! So because of this Senna made the threat the FIA didn’t back down… So neither did Senna! At the time he was concidered a hero or a villian whichever side of the fence you sat.

    4. @ Hairs
      Enough said…

      Then again, Senna wasn’t a saint either. By and large, i see most of the Schumacher’s problem arising from the fact that he is a German and well, denied either a British Team or Driver a win. F1 media, it is by and large british and let us be fair, what went unpunished and well was rewarded in days of Senna (which is not all that way back in history) came back to haunt the German who denied the British.

      Time and again, i have left comments here quoting i don’t know who it was, that “Lewis should engage brain before opening mouth.” Plus, as you already quoted, Lewis also has quite some colourful history in what is actually a very short time in F1(this is what, his 4th year). That is a lot! Then again, i’m dead certain that with his attitude in the car and in the paddock, he’ll be creating more problems for himself than making friends, which someone has already mentioned here before me.

    5. I wouldn’t say that Hamilton is as tainted as Schumacher. Yet. He is certainly going the right direction, though. He has only been in F1 a few years.

      If Hamilton keeps up the same misbehaviour and lasts as long as Schumacher he will certainly have one of the worst reputations of all time.

      1. Lets face it they both have MASSIVE egos and are great drivers. But Lewis has a loooong way to go before he will be classified in Shumachers league.

        1. Exactly right, Lewis is not (yet?) as great a champion as Schumi nor is he (yet?) such a ruthless racer and as big at playing it dirty.

          If he does as he said in the interview, he might be able to get to be as great a champion without too much of dirty plays. It would sure make him even better, buf only time will tell, weather it will.

          1. there is a different between RACING and DRIVING like many others

            without LH you’d be going on about how boring this season has been… his overtaking record shows he’s the best out there, despite not having an Adrian Newby designed car of Red Bull

            a lot of drivers have caused accidents – but few have excited us in the same way as LH.. and he’s a nice bloke, compared to Schuma

          2. Hello LondonRacer, i fail to see the relevance of your reaction to my post.

          3. @London Racer

            It’s easy to say he’s the best simply on the number of overtakes he’s done, but have you stopped to think that other drivers have put themselves in positions where they don’t need to overtake so much? This is part of why Lewis isn’t leading the championship this season, nor has he won a race. You’re also disregarding the abilities of guys like Alonso, who fought his way through the pack superbly at Australia.

    6. HAIRS you all right
      who is hamilton to say that he has done the same or worse but just because he is british the media simply closes the eyes he doesnt need to cheat he is a good driver but he has taken the short track a lot of times

      1. No he’s not right. Hamilton drives fairly enough – pushing the rules envelope is something *all* the drivers do, including Alonso (witness his move on Massa in Shanghai), Raikonnen etc. Usually these are heat of the moment decisions. What Schumacher did was much more cynical, usually calculated to ruin his opponents chances when his own had faltered for some reason. For this reason, I think his legacy is tainted. It’s equally reflected in his off-track maneouvers to gain advantages over team mates – like over Rosberg this season. What puzzles me is *why* Lewis decided to reverse his early compliments about racing against Schumacher being something special. Maybe the treatment of Nico hasn’t gone down too well with the younger drivers.

        1. Senna was worse, but as Eddie Jordan said… Schumacher would have had to die on track and die young, for him to be as popular…

          Hamilton’s been here for what, 3 years plus? He already has done so much for himself :P So far he has lied to stewards, divided his team over and handed them on a platter to FIA… Then again, there are questionable racing incidents…

        2. “It’s equally reflected in his off-track maneouvers to gain advantages over team mates – like over Rosberg this season.”

          But you are only assuming that Schu is gaining ganing control of the team over Rosberg because you are expecting it so much, and thinking it so much. You in fact think it is happening but there is no proof and in reality it is actually not.

          “*why* Lewis decided to reverse his early compliments about racing against Schumacher being something special.”

          Because his comments always reflects to suit the situation. Which yet again suggests that he is not very honest. Had Schumacher dominated from start of this season, no doubt Hamilton would have continued with that story.

    7. Here we go, all you hammy busters will now try to find an excuse to blast Hammilton. Frankly, he is much more exciting as a driver than MS ever was and ever will be. He also has more overtakes in a quater of the season, than most drivers (even MS) do for a whole season. MS is certainly tainted as a driver and the 2006 incident is just one of them. So go for it Hammy, and give these whiners, who call themselves F1 drivers, a lesson in Driving

      1. NSG i am with you on Hamilton being a great racer, pulling of overtaking moves all over each track and giving us a great deal of exitement.
        But to state Schumacher never was just as exiting is a little bit out of the way. I can remember a lot of great laps, overtakes and races won from unpossible positions by Schumacher.
        Just a shame he comes with those incidents to taint his legacy, let’s hope he is not lost it and gives us some nice drives to remember in the races still to come to improve our view of him.

        1. “Just a shame he comes with those incidents to taint his legacy, let’s hope he is not lost it and gives us some nice drives to remember in the races still to come to improve our view of him.”

          agreed.

      2. Considering the extreme attitudes and long debates caused by Schumi’s actions, I strongly disagree with you, when you claim that Ham is much more exciting than the 7 time champ. One thing you haven’t considered is that perhaps other drivers put themselves in better positions, so they don’t need to do as many overtakes as Hamilton. Remember, he isn’t exactly leading the world championship, is he?

        1. Frankly, I prefer seeing somebody overtaking on the track rather than in the pits. Since now the playing field has been leveled to just changing one set of tyres, people like MS are finding it difficult to overtake on track, as they havent really done that since taking up F1, which in a sentence explains his unimpressive races to date this year.

    8. All you Hammy bashers seem to be quivering in your pants to discover that people do believe MS has a tainted legacy. Frankly, MS is, was and will be the most boring driver of all time, besides being overhyped. He was in the right team at the right moment, certainly, he was responsible for building the team around himself. All his co-drivers signed with a clause to ‘move over’ for MS. Thus he reduced competition to just twenty cars. Besides all the cars with Ferrari motors which would also keel over as soon as MS was behind them he reduced the competition to a mere 18 cars and out of this batch, none were up to the Ferrari’s in any departement.Thus basicaly he was racing around in a race car with his partner not allowed to race against him and the rest of the field were running around pushing prams. MS overtook cars in the pit lane, unlike Hammy, Hammy in his short f1 career dares to and has probably ‘overtaken’ the number of ‘on track’ overtakes that MS has done in his total track career. If I counted all the MS antics of trying to keep the competition at bay unsportingly, I would end up with a figure which would be higher than all the overtakes he has ever dared to. I rest my case. MS = boring, Hammy = an exciting F1 driver

  2. So much for being smart and keeping your mouth shut…

    1. Actually this made me remember a quote from the “American Gangster” film: “the loudest in the room is the stupidest in the room.”

      This quote explicitly applies to Lewis of all the F1 drivers: at times when he needs to shut up and concentrate on getting within the reach of the title battle, he says unnecessary things about others. Maybe he should remember he’s the only driver to have been reprimanded twice in the last five races. Now that he again (unnecessarily) attracted media attention, a tiniest controversy involving him will become a scandal.

      As sad as it is, I really feel that Lewis is slightly losing the 2010 psychological war. He made too many blunders already. Firstly, he willingly refused to have his family (most importantly Anthony, of course) in the McLaren pits – thereby yielding their space to “Jenson Button crew.” Secondly, pushed his tyres too far on a number of occasions – in the situation where his driving style only provokes blunders. Thirdly, he is already far behind in the points (alongside Massa, who is clearly having problems with the handling of the car). Let’s face it, he is already not the most likeable figure in the paddock and he just accumulates more and more enemies. I’m not too sure he can count on an amiable response from Schumi after this. Lewis may be a great racer, but he is a poor thinker and an extremely poor strategist.

      1. Can you give me a source where you can find that says that he is wiling barring his family from the pits? I seem to remeber last week his brother being in the pits. And His father is focusing on his own endeavors with the Anthony Hamilton F1 Academy. Nowhere have I read his has banned his family.

      2. If the interviewer finds his interviee replying with a shut mouth all you you guys will be calling Hammy a ‘dumbo’. Secondly, the whole sense of being interviewed would be lost , wouldnt it? For your kind information ‘Americain Gangsters’ is a hollywood movie. In real life the one who beats his drum the loudest is heard…. however dumb.

    2. That’s just dishonest journalism. Here is what he actually said:

      http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKLDE64C0W620100513

      “I want to be remembered as a fair driver as a clean driver and one that always drove with my heart and battled through thick and thin to score the points and the championships I will hopefully earn by then.”

      “For me, when I think about the history it is not just about me, it is about how my family raised me, and where we came from.

      “For that to be potentially tainted by something like that (Schumacher’s Monaco controversy) would be really devastating for me. That is definitely something I don’t want to be remembered for.”

      “I just focus on my own job. It doesn’t have any impact on me. You guys have an opinion about it…whether I think it was right or wrong I wasn’t in the car with him,”

      “It doesn’t do anything for me whatsoever,” he said.

      “He is a world champion and you want to be up against a world champion. It is always a privilege to be on the same track as him as it is having him in the sport.

      “It would be special if I was on the track with (the late Brazilian champion) Ayrton (Senna), for me, but everyone has their own points of view.”

      Sounds a little bit different, doesn’t it?

        1. To give you credit, you did mention the fact that we can read the rest of what he said in the attached link, but you knew which parts to extract lol.

          I was a bit surprised that Lewis would say that Shumacher does nothing for him specially after being so excited about getting to race in the pre-season. But after reading the whole thing, he did say good things about Michael.

          Now to the point of the article..

          How will they be remembered? Yes Schumi doesn’t have the cleanest reputations, and Hamilton made some mistakes (mainly the liegate) that he did apologize for, but what’s the first thing you remember when thinking of Schumacher? For me it’s that he’s a 7 time World Champion, his skill and talent, then all the tainted reputation and controversies. So no matter what Hamilton does or any other talented driver does, they will remembered most importantly for their achievements, WDCs, and talent. (Hey even Senna may have had his controversial moments back then, and what do we think of him now? A legend!)

          1. “To give you credit, you did mention the fact that we can read the rest of what he said in the attached link, but you knew which parts to extract lol.”

            Haha,.. I had enough trust to simply read the important points of the article on this thread. Assuming Keith has covered “ALL” the points of Hamiltons conversation. Which is what I would expect from Keith. But now that I read that article, hmmm… that is not really the case is it.

        2. Keith, I think you have the best F1 site on the web, period. However I don’t think this article accurately represented what the guy said. Maybe “dishonest journalism” wasn’t the right choice of words, but I just expected better. In my opinion even Planet F1 did a better job covering this story.

          I find myself in a strange position of defending Lewis again, and he is not one of my favorite F1 characters. I understand that you didn’t want to entirely rip-off your source, but the bits and pieces you selected kind of distorted the image.

      1. Hello Ben, i just read your (pretty convincing) post and others blaiming Keith of changing the meaning of what was said in the original interview.
        As is am used to having good articles by Keith showing his opinion, but not biased i had to read the original.

        Interestingly, you do exactly that, what you blame Keith of doing. By quoting only Lewis answer to the questions and not the commentary connecting them, you change the meaning of his words.

        Yes, is quoted as speaking about not having an opinion on Schumi 2006. The next quote is “It doesn’t … whatsoever. But the text by Reuters telling us what the second quote was relating to (Lewis on racing with Schumi) is crucial here and gives it exactly the meaning Keith extracted from it in his article.

  3. Lewis has a long career ahead of him, I think the incidents will be long forgetten after his long and successful career as an F1 driver come to an end.

    It is interesting however that I seem to remember last year when there where serious rumors of Schumi’s return to replace Massa, Him being on of the many drivers who said they would relish at the chance to drive along-side Schumacher.

    Perhaps his stance has changed now that he has raced along side Schumacher and realised that he is in fact human and beat-able.

    1. As Always it is always best to get the story straight from the horse’s mouth, This is his entire quote as stated by Rueters.

      http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKLDE64C0W620100513

      “I want to be remembered as a fair driver as a clean driver and one that always drove with my heart and battled through thick and thin to score the points and the championships I will hopefully earn by then.”

      “For me, when I think about the history it is not just about me, it is about how my family raised me, and where we came from.

      “For that to be potentially tainted by something like that (Schumacher’s Monaco controversy) would be really devastating for me. That is definitely something I don’t want to be remembered for.”

      “”I just focus on my own job. It doesn’t have any impact on me. You guys have an opinion about it…whether I think it was right or wrong I wasn’t in the car with him,”

      “It doesn’t do anything for me whatsoever,” he said.

      “He is a world champion and you want to be up against a world champion. It is always a privilege to be on the same track as him as it is having him in the sport.

      “It would be special if I was on the track with (the late Brazilian champion) Ayrton (Senna), for me, but everyone has their own points of view.”

      He does pay omage to Schumacher and does not discredit what he has done. But like any competitor, He has to see and treat Schumi like any other person that he is competing against him. A competitor who pays too much respect gets beat. You have to believe in your abilities to beat anyone else o the grid. If you don’t you’ve already lost before you started.

      Some might see it as disrespect to Schumi but I bet Schumi would have it no other way. A true competitor does not want to receive a gift from anyone, they want to earn it.

      1. theRoswellite
        13th May 2010, 19:07

        Glenn, thanks for bringing out more of what Lewis actually said.

        For many (maybe most?) drivers, just using the standard platitudes is enough to get them through an interview. I always enjoy Hamilton’s comments for good or bad, as he often explains his feelings or opinions with uncommon frankness.

        A refreshing change.

      2. That’s interesting to see the ‘it doesn’t do anything for me’ quote in that context. I don’t wish to speak ill of Keith, who’s perhaps the most unbiased and least sensationalist major blogger out there, but it’s a long way from the impression he gives in the article. A mistaken interpretation, I hope?

        1. The Reueter article is very misleading in the fact that they do not publish the question asked of him to warrant that response. They instead publish this editorial blurb;

          “The prospect of racing Schumacher, a five times winner in Monaco, might once have been a big thrill but not any more for a youngster who has achieved so much already in three seasons in the sport.”

          The reporter could have asked any number of questions to warrant that answer, but they way the arranged the articles leads one to believe that the question that was asked was what he thought of racing with Schumacher.

          1. That’s quite an interesting point, that happens an awful lot now that I think about it!

          2. Maybe passing a not on form Schumacher in China was a little bit of an anti-climax for Lewis.
            If they get in a fight here in Monaco it will be more on the lines of not getting past, waiting for pitstops or a crash for at least one of them.

  4. Didn’t Hamilton say something about being upset that he missed out on the chance of racing against Schumacher when he first came?

    1. I think. I thought Ham said before the season that he really wanted to race against Schumacher?

      1. Ned Flanders
        13th May 2010, 17:23

        He did. Perhaps we shouldn’t be taking this at face value. We all know Schumacher has a fragile confidence at times, and given that Hamilton and Schumi are now direct competitors than you’d have to assume these are just mind games from Hamilton

        1. Yeah it could be… or he raced against Schumi and realised that he has had tougher competitors throughout his career.

        2. Or, if you see the quote in context as provided by Glenn, it doesn’t seem like he has anything bad to say about Schumacher. In fact it seems almost respectful.

          1. Exactly need to read the rest of the Reuters’ article :)

      2. Maybe the ease at which Lewis has beaten Schumacher took the fun out of racing against him?

        1. I don’t hear Button complaining, and he’s still whipping Hamilton and Schumacher…. no?

          1. Actually, Button was complaining earlier this week that he couldn’t get past Schumacher!

          2. Not quite what I meant but correct none the less…

    2. Weasel Chops
      13th May 2010, 17:48

      Yeah and pretty sure he talked about relishing the chance to race Schumacher before this season started. But back then I think he dad was still writing the scripts.

      1. Mmm. Excellent point, that. Alonso handled it much better, IMO. He’s forgiven Schumacher, and he’s moved on.

    3. I think he did say he looked forward to racing Schumacher, but expectation is one thing and reality is another.

      After having raced with Schumacher Hamilton probably realised it wasn’t that different to racing Alonso.

      Also I wouldn’t expect any racing driver it means a lot to them to be racing someone they are competing against.

      1. Cmon guys…I’m no Shumacher fan but racing him now and racing him in his prime are vastly different. Not taking anything away from Ham but Shuey is not the driver he was years ago.

  5. I agree with Hairs & David A.
    An incredible cheap shot by Lewis, forgetting his own stains.

  6. Schumacher had years to build up his “boat”. Hamilton is doing just fine putting his together plank by plank.

    Can a driver cannot be great these days without pushing the envelope? I’d say no. Every modern great is simultaneously loved and hated, lauded and despised. It is but a burden of being such a special talent.

    Hamilton, when all is said and done, won’t be any different.

    1. The only way to clean all your “boat” has to be dying on the track. That would make you the “hero” of everybody and a saint. And by a certain extend retiring can also soften how the young guns talk about you, ’cause for the last 3 years none of the drivers were talking trash about Schumi’s legacy, or saying that competing against him (a 7WDC) is the same as competing against all the other mediocre drivers he has been racing against for the last 3 years. I hope he is playing ‘mind games’ with the Schu (guess not, Schu is not a rival at the moment), or maybe Lewis has joined the schumi haters club, more likely its just one more sign of the lack of respect Hami has for everyone in F1 (fans, racers, teammates, etc) demonstrated by a lot of incidents in his short career as an F1 driver.
      It’s sad though ’cause I remember him (when he was a humble person at the beginning of 2007) saying that it was a shame Schumi was not around anymore, because he wanted to race against him.

      1. I think your first line is one of the most poignant I have read on F1Fanatic or for that matter, on any F1 forum.

        Perhaps, the reason Schumacher and Hamilton attract so much negative attention is because they haven’t died on track like Senna did.

        1. Years ago I remember Eddie Jordan saying a similar thing; that he hoped Schumacher would never be crowds’ all time greatest because that would require him dying at a young age on the track.

      2. The only way to clean all your “boat” has to be dying on the track. That would make you the “hero” of everybody and a saint

        I’ve been saying this about Senna for a long while. Also, yesterday rampante wrote something about Gilles Villeneuve being mostly at fault for causing an accident in which other people died.

        Somehow though, I think it’s too late for Schumacher and Hamilton to die and be expunged of their “crimes”. We live in a different era now, a lot less respectful one.

  7. Ned Flanders
    13th May 2010, 17:19

    Ana rticle referring to Hamilton, Schumacher and controversy all in the same headline? This is bound to get a lot of comments!

    1. I bet 150 messages by midnight!

      1. Just 99 by midnight!!!

        1. Lol, the thread didn’t quite take off as I expected!

  8. Lewis is definitely one of the most talented drivers ever. Perhaps, the most talented on the grid right now (yes, he is at par with Alonso and Schumacher).

    But he could perhaps take a leaf out of Schumacher’s book here.

    Schumacher has consistently refused to answer questions that might spark a controversy. Hamilton could do well to follow his footsteps. Alonso learnt this the hard way in 2007. I thought Hamilton learnt his lesson at Australia 2009 when too much talking to the media led to his downfall. But I was wrong. This kid still has to just talk, talk and talk!!!

  9. Sangeen Khan
    13th May 2010, 17:21

    If Lewis can get anywhere near 7 World Titles he will probably have more stains on his career than Schumacher.You just cant win so much by being a nice guy…

  10. Lewis is not perfect, but I could not imagine him doing something as blatant and dangerous as parking sideways on the track and then purposely stalling the car. Top drivers (Lewis included) are fierce competitors who should seize any advantage available. But Schumacher’s action was just dumb, dangerous, transparent cheating–a desperate act.

  11. Don’t take this the wrong way Mr Hamilton, but I suspect your run of controversies will rivals his, and Don’t take this the wrong way, but I doubt your record of successes will.

    And I also remember him relishing fighting with Schumacher.

    1. Yep, so it is a bit rich of him to be saying this now. He starts taking cheap shots at other drivers just when I was beginning to like him.

    2. “Don’t take this the wrong way Mr Hamilton, but I suspect your run of controversies will rivals his, and Don’t take this the wrong way, but I doubt your record of successes will.”

      Agreed. 100%

  12. HewisLamilton
    13th May 2010, 17:30

    Lewis should hope to have a legacy. One WDC does not a legacy make. IMHO

    As for Schumacher and the press, everyone knows about Mocaco 2006 / Rascasse. We know what happened. We know the reults and the punishment. Why is it still an issue with the press? Michael got caught and was punished. Is that not enough? I guess further humiliation is in order…..

  13. Lewis is getting involved in a conversation he has no part of. I mean sure, he won one title and has had a display of some good effort, BUT he has had his share of moments where he looked just as questionable. schumacher was in the sport for over ten yrs, and he didnt always have the best equipment, matter of fact he was stuck battling mclaren and williams with inferior equipment. this sounds more like something that should be coming out of buttons mouth, not lewis’s. but if i was lewis id just shut my mouth and get on with my gameplan. some people just want to stir up crap and theres no exception here. once lewis has done everything schumacher did and WITH LESS contreversy tied to his whole career(which he never will), then he is more entitled to come and throw out such dialogue. I reckon if michael schumacher was of a different nationality we wouldnt be discussing this even. But you know what, say what you want to say about the guy, youre obviously trying to take away from his legacy and you never will. Jensen was crying after last weekends race because he got punked lap after another by a crappy grey and teal car.

  14. He will be remembered just like Schumacher because it’s 50/50 between those who love him and those who hate him.

    He had a lot of controvertial moments, just like Schumacher. And of course, no one can really argue about his speed and talent.

    And it all happened in 3 seasons.

    But he also avoids to shut up a bit…

    So controversies are on sight. He talks a lot when sometimes he shouldn’t even open his mouth.

    1. Well, the article says nothing about if he gave his opinion freely or was asked a direct question – and if the latter, and he had declined, some would be saying that he was deliberately avoiding the issue because he “knows” he’s as bad as Schumacher was. So who knows.

  15. I thought that during Schumachers failed comback last year Hamilton said he had been really looking forward to racing Shumacher and was disappointed the German retired just before Hamiltons debut. The reason i bring this up is i’m confused why he now says racing Schumacher is nothing special. Is it a change of heart now Michael isn’t as competitive as he was, or that Lewis is worried about being associated with Michael after what happened yesterday.

    1. If you had read a little bit more of the article, or if Keith had helped us out by quoting the article in a balanced fashion, you would see Hamilton holds exactly that view:

      “He is a world champion and you want to be up against a world champion. It is always a privilege to be on the same track as him as it is having him in the sport.”

      Furthermore, you would also find that Hamilton expressly declined to pass judgement on the 2006 incident. For a journalist, it is one thing to argue that a public figure should know and be responsible for the implications of a fair possible alternative interpretation of a statement. It is another to chop it off a statement in the middle and attest that it is the opposite of its plain meaning. Just my opinion.

      1. There’s a balance to be struck between using enough of a quote to report what someone is saying accurately, and not abusing a source by copying all of their content.

        I included the link to Reuters’ article – twice – and specifically stated you can read the quotes in full there. I don’t intend either to mislead anyone or rip off anyone else’s work.

        1. Great response Keith.

          Far too many sites (and print outlets) are fond of ripping off whole pieces and not crediting the source.

        2. In all honesty, the answer that you linked to the original and that you didn’t quote more is not convincing. The entire post is about what was reported first elsewhere, and the fact that you can’t quote it all doesn’t speak to the choice of what to quote.

          The problem is, this is not really some random hacks blog where you take stuff with a grain of salt and accept the known bias, this is a bona fide news source now, and it will be held to same standards as ITV-F1, BBC, etc. You have raised the bar for yourself with the quality and speed of your reporting and analysis, and so you have higher standards to meet now than your peers to meet.

          1. Well, I wouldn’t agree, It’s a blog, not an official news agency site, He can write what he wants.

            I don’t think he used the quotes in an abusive way, and I suspect, that he has a right to have his own take on what goes on, Just as we do in the comments, Keith regularly puts links on his site to other mainstream F1 sites so I don’t think someone could be under an illusion that this is the only source for F1 information.

            Different sites with different writers will have and demonstrate different opinions, and this shows when you read any given article. It isn’t too often that people disagree with what he says, and you do have a right to of course! but to attack his journalism because you dislike his take, or opinion on what is going on, is a bit low.

        3. “I included the link to Reuters’ article – twice – and specifically stated you can read the quotes in full there. I don’t intend either to mislead anyone or rip off anyone else’s work.”

          ….

          “Hamilton added that racing against Schumacher “doesn’t do anything for me whatsoever”” <——-

          I am not really sure that Hamilton specifically stated that point. In fact from what I gather, his remarks about "doesn’t do anything for me whatsoever" refereed to the incident involving Schumacher at Monaco.

  16. FelipeBabyStayCool
    13th May 2010, 17:51

    I worship Ayrton Senna as the all-time best pilot, but he also had his rash moments and was heavily criticized in his time, and hated too. The price of glory, I guess.

  17. Keith, I hope your site sponsors pay you by the comment. Keep up the Schmacher and Hamilton stories and yours will be nearly the biggest boat at Monaco. Light the touch paper and stand well back…….

  18. This article is just an invitation to Hamilton-haters. Way to go!

    1. You are right.

      The previous article was an invitation to all Schumi-haters :)

      Perhaps, Keith is keeping all haters happy in reverse alphabetical order.

      First Michael, then Lewis. Buck up Kimi and Jenson haters, you are next ;-) ;-)

      1. I don’t think you could have referred to either Hamilton’s quote today or Schumacher’s quote yesterday without it being seen by some as a desire to provoke anger. There’s just too much bad feeling about both drivers from some quarters.

      2. No, you’ll find Button has an invisible force field protecting him from negative articles in the British media.

        1. give it time, give it time. They love nothing more than building someone up, so they can tear them down.

        2. That is not really true. They just are not negative of ungenlemenlike behaviour but have critique of him being as good a driver as Lewis and others.

    2. Mark Hitchcock
      14th May 2010, 1:03

      Or just an invitation for you to make another ridiculous statement in his defence.

      1. I agree – Hamilton only giving us another reason to remember him as a cheesy self-obsessed idiot. Why he always has to justify himself as racing with his ‘heart’ is beyond me.

  19. Lewis has a looooong career ahead of him. you can bet the first time he is embroiled in any kind of on track ethical question this statement will rise up to haunt him. And deservedly so.

    I think Lewis would sell his soul today to have seven crowns on his mantle. Hell, I would too!

  20. Well, it’s a shame that Hamilton doesn’t want to be remembered as a rule-breaker, when rulers so often BREAK rules over the rest of the paddock just to have Hamilton on top places. He’s an excellent driver, but with incidents like the Nurburgring towing years ago, or the other day going nuts in the pitlane , and the stewards investigated that “after the race”, or pushing Webber out of the road, well Lewis, that’s the “tainted” image you don’t want to admit as plenty yours. (PS: Ups I first commented this in another post)

    1. he didn’t push Webber (who slammed into Lewis’ rear in Australia for no apparent reason (he’s just not skilled enough) – Lewis had Vettel on the left so had nowhere to go…

      Webber can’t get blame others when he can’t outbreak better racing drivers… he has a very good car, that’s it.

      1. Go back and read what Webber had to say on that incident and then rethink your statement about not being skilled enough.

        He has a damn site more skill than either you or I.

  21. It is sad that this article is purely for commentary. Keith, you could have let this one go. We get enough negative Hamilton opinion expressed to allow this one to slip.. I am sure Hamilton did not mean to belittle Schumi with is comments. But like planetf1, F1F fans seems to relish the opportunity to just express their opinions on Hamilton. (just adding to the 150 count)…

    1. What is negative in it for Hamilton. Good for him not to want to have a tainted image. I am glad he cares (something i am not sure Schumi cares about). It is up to him to try to behave like it as well.

      He has to put down his admiration to Schumi. First his experience with im on track was not as thrilling as expected as Schumi was not having his day. He never had that experience with Senna!
      Next to that, every possibility to get a direct competitor down are needed, especially as Schumi is now getting up to speed.

  22. Ivan Vinitskyy
    13th May 2010, 18:32

    Am I the only one who doesn’t find anything wrong with what Lewis said?

    1. Comments of a strong competitor. If I was his Team boss I would want my driver to be no other way.

      1. THANK YOU

        he can walk the talk most of the time… and he is a one nice guy…

        and of course he has had his share of accidents… if he was in Williams and named Nakajima, nobody would have cared… in my opinion, the latter was one of the most reckless drivers out there

        Lewis’ racing style is very different from many others – without him F1 would have been just plain boring, if the cameras were following the rest of the top guys during the races (we’d have fallen asleep, with all the downforce and lack of overtaking)

        Many racing drivers like winge about Lewis because secretly they wouldn’t want him to be staring at their cars’ rears

        Ferrari: “Lewis is behind you”
        Alonso: “I don’t want to hear that”

        And Alonso is a two-faced arrogant driver with very big cojones – he spoke out against his teams in Spanish many times (behind their backs)

  23. For Christ sake Lewis!! Don’t get sucked into these silly and pointless questions!! These questions are asked to lower you into comments that they will take and blow out of proportion.

    Don’t let them get the better of you brother.

  24. whats it like up on that high horse lewis?

  25. Oh my god keith, what have you done? the lewis haters have come back in force with this article…nooooooooooo

    jk btw.

  26. Nice joke Lewis:)

  27. Sorry Lewis, but it’ll never happen. You can win 6 more WDC and have no more incidents (as if that’s ever possible for any multiple WDC), and there will always be those who will bring up your mistakes, twist every 50/50 situation against you, and flatly deny your talent and personality because it’s in their best interests to do so. It’s the world you live in.

    Your only consolation is most of your detractors will have taken their stance before being “shocked” by your controversies anyway – assuming you don’t do a Piquet, Senna, or Schumacher, which would make everyone lose respect for you, and rightly so.

  28. Hamilton’s driving at Monza in 2008 says it all, doesn’t it…?

    1. Yeah that was superb. Amazing how he almost won that race.

      and then some dumb people whine about how he overtook Glock and took the line insted of letting him sit next to him through a corner … *sigh*

      1. He pushed Glock on to the grass! without having to let Glock repass him. In the same race, Massa passed Robberg fair and square, but the stewards forced him to let Rosberg pass. And Hamilton also pushed Webber to the escape route in the very same race. I son’t understand how the stewards think, if they actually are…

        1. If you had another car on your left, (i.e. no room to give to Webber), what would you do?

          Noone pushed anyone.. Webber is just not nearly as skilled… If you get overtaken in the corner, fight for it or let go. Happens all the time

          1. Yep, Webber is not skilled again. Think about this, if Webber had not conceded the line then HAMILTON would have hit him. Then the likes of you would be moaning that Webber was not skilled enough to get out of the way!!!!

            It seems that Webber is damned if he does and damned if he does not.

  29. I think it’s a shame that some Hamilton fans today, as with some Schumacher fans yesterday, think their driver is immune to criticism.

    In Schumacher’s case, he did something stupid and is rightly taken to task for it. It was three years ago, yes, but the fact that he has never admitted fault nor apologised for his actions makes it still relevant. He has never answered the questions, so of course people are going to keep asking them.

    For Hamilton, he has opened his mouth (again) and said something that he perhaps shouldn’t have. Talking about Schumacher’s “tainted legacy” when he himself has been accused of pushing other drivers off the track, and various other allegations of unsporting behaviour, was not the wisest move in the world. If he didn’t expect to draw some criticism for it, then he isn’t very bright.

    The point is that public figures like Schumacher and Hamilton are going to be held to account for what they say and do. That’s not a weakness of the media (including Keith, who has come in for a fair bit of flak from the fans over the past day or so), it’s a strength.

    1. Sorry Andy, I politely disagree.

      I don’t think an apology from MS will make a difference in this case and nor do I think that anyone can make him accountable. This is a sporting incident and he was held accountable by the stewards of the even and penalized three years ago. Everyone knows what he did, Everyone saw it. I don’t need him to be the politician that stands at a podium with his wife and children at his side, pretending to wipe away tears as he apologizes for having sexual relations with a twelve year old Nicaraguan boy in the bathroom at the train terminal.

      An apology means nothing when you know deep down that given the opportunity he will re-offend. As will Lewis one day.

  30. Well I really can’t understand one thing.
    if shumi is so bad and he have a bad reputation, so why every on in the formula 1 world, including the media are talking all the time about him?

    for Lewis, i would say ” on what scale u choose, Shumi is 7 time by far better than u”

    1. and also almost twice as old as Lewis…. :D

  31. Everybody seems to be being very unfair to Hamilton here, saying that he’s being a bit hypocritical. But top be fair, he was only asked about Schumacher’s monaco incident. He says he wouldn’t want to be tainted by something like that. And he hasn’t been. Most contriversies concerning him aren’t related to him performing such a blatenly pre-empted offense. I can’t recall Hamilton parking on track to prevent other runners from setting a time or deliberately hitting competitors. I’m not saying he hasn’t seen controversy, but not as badly or of the same sort as Schumacher. And he be fair he never said he was perfect, just that he didn’t want to be remembered for parking on track.

    1. Yes, but he lied to the stewards… He knew, but only admitted to it when the telemetry was shoved in his face. Then there’s more which some other chap recounted in the beginning of the comments… Please do read the first comment.

      1. Yes and my comment says that Hamilton has done wrong, but not in the same way as Schumacher. He clearly views the Monaco incident as worse than Hungary or his lie. But I’m not trying to say whether Hamilton or Schumacher is worse anyway. I’m trying to say that what Hamilton said was justified because, whether he is tainted or not, he does not want to be tainted by something as severe as Schumacher, and the question Hamilton was asked was relating to Schumacher’s incident, not any of Hamilton’s past ones.

      2. Nothing wrong with Lewis not feeling good with being remembered for negatives, it is not saying he did nothing wrong in the past. For sure he did do nothing of the magnetude that Schumi did, or Senna for that matter.

        He has all chance of the world to impress with his driving without too much controversy and be remembered that way in generations to come.

    2. Not sticking up for Schumi here, just playing the devil’s advocate.

      How do you know that any of his offences were pre planned and not just “oh s@*$, i’m about to loose the WDC here” or whatever

      1. By pre-planned I mean committing an offense on the track, knowing what you’re doing, whereas Hamilton’s lie was a blunder off the track- he didn’t pass the Toyota thinking ‘I’m going to lie about this.’ I just mean that what Hamilton did was different and, in my view at least, not as serious (although I don’t pretend that it wasn’t still very serious).

        1. @matt90

          Trust me, if Schumacher were British, most of the media would have been singing a different tune… :P

          Well, i think when you said that Hamilton was being treated unfairly… it is utter jibberish… Button has been doing so well this year again… What is the media doing? Hamilton is in the limelight all the time, with which i have no problems. It only goes to prove that the media loves him and is giving him ample coverage… Then again, if it were any other driver who was caught lying, it would have been a different scanrio… Punishment, trust me, would have been different… In many ways what Hamilton did was equally worse or may be more… As by the time he made his statement, stewards already knew that he was lying… He then turned on his team-mate and blamed him for his own stupidity… Simply brilliant…

      2. back in those glorious Schuma days, the FIA and Ferrari were pretty crooked anyway… why revisiting the past if everyone was aware of the general bias, with Mosley in charge?

  32. I didn’t know f1 drivers were into internet trolling.

  33. Keith when I first read this I assumed it was putting Hamilton in a positive light, he obviously wants to win and prosper in a dignified manner and it’s obvious he regrets he hasn’t got the cleanest slate.

    Now I’m really not a Hamilton fan at all, but all the hateful comments on here soon made me see the whole article in a different light. And all the things that have been said have only been done so before. Hamilton will be Hamilton and say these things! And in the light of the GP coming up, the comparisons between the two drivers is a talking point whether anyone likes it or not.

  34. I think Lewis is just stirring things up ahead of this weekend’s grandsprix, nothing more and nothing less. Michael Schumacher, not without reason, always had a long chequered history with the media and past ‘incidents’ inwhich he was accused of cheating. Hamilton is just jumping on the bandwagon, pouring salt on a old wound, playing the old mind games routine. As for how Lewis will be remembered, I guess that depends who is telling the tale. Some will remember him as a hero, a driving genious, and some will remember him as a cheat and an egotist. Like with all drivers, it depends on which side of the fence you are sitting.

  35. Well, I’m not seeing the reliable set of comments that Keith is a raving British jingoist who aims single-handedly to restore the Empire by libeling the non-British racing world.

  36. You have to love it. Lewis is not even a shadow of the driver that Schumacher is and he’s talking about not wanting a legacy like his. It’s just plain funny. Hamilton has one WDC that he won by one point. Luck is what it is called. Schumi has SEVEN WDC’s and pretty much every other meaningful record in F1. Hamilton will never come close. Except of course, in the imaginations of his deluded fans.

    1. No, he’s saying he doesn’t want whatever legacy he does have to be tainted by something like Monaco.

  37. I know this is turning into a lewis hating charade, but rightfully so. I am a lewis hater, ill be the first to tell you that. But not because his color or nationality. Its in his personality, arrogance, and his driving style. Okay, schumacher use to adjust his race line to block people off, but one several occasions lewis has overtaken and ran people off the track. And i have seen him do it with way more frequency than michael did. I was die hard into schumacher and ferrari and i will be the first to admit he did do some shady things. I didnt sit there and blatantly lie and say oh no he didnt do that, or sit there and overanalyze it so it seems like its not his fault. Thats why alot of people dont like him, not just me. I mean im not a button fan either in anyway, and i wasnt nearly as mad when he got WDC…..Why? Bec he got on with his driving, didnt have to drive people off the track in the process, and didnt go home with something stupid to say afterwards. Thats why nobody ever talks about him and i can respect that. Ok now im done, haha.

    1. I saw Lewis drive in GP2 and was instantly sold. His behaviour in 2007 tainted him as well as Alonso, even if not in the same degree.
      This had me lose some of the awe for both of them.
      Lately both have come out saying they did things wrong that year, they know it and have gone on to behave differently in the future.
      It made me respect them both a lot more, for learning from mistakes offers respect and shows they can improve.
      Schumacher did not say he learnt from his mistakes. I am looking forward to seeing he did by supporting his team to improve for both drivers, building the team, helping Rosberg improve and getting wins and maybe an 8th WDC in doing it.
      Now his most positive legacy at Ferrari must be bringing the team back to be competitive (team effort) and mentoring Massa to get to a very high level.

      1. yup… unlike Alonso and Lewis, who said the past is past and they aren’t holding any grudge for each other, Schuma never actually apologised (sincerely)…

        then you have people who hate Lewis for his “personality, arrogance, and his driving style”… ok, what about his driving style? he’s a distinguished racer in a dangerous sport and has a decent bag of tricks most drivers are envy of. arrogance? i say you’re lost in translation – the guy is so nice but when it comes to racing, nice guys finish last, so he has to race till the end like a ninja

  38. Well buy the amount people talk about hamilton, im pretty sure he will be remembered!

    1. Remembered for everything except what matters. Winning!

    2. Im sure Dave Ryan will remember him

      1. I lol’d so hard that i peed a little in my pants :P

      2. I am sure Dave Ryan agreed with rather giving up his position in the team than leaving the blame for lying with Lewis and damaging him for ever.

  39. You all think Lewis isn’t aware of his already colourful past? He’s simply saying he would rather be remembered as a great driver, than a dirty one. He isn’t saying he IS a great driver and NOT a driver with a cloud of controversy hanging over him.

    1. That’s precisely what he means.

      1. Sorry that sounded wrong, i’m agreeing with you though!

    2. I think if the FIA let people do what they are supposed to do – RACE and not drive around in an orderly fashion – from 2007 or before when Lewis joined the pack, we wouldn’t be having these discussions.

      Mind you I have heard many people who don’t follow F1 much saying the other drivers must be just jealous of the guy who is so different and skilled (you dont want to see Lewis behing your car during a race). He also has many driver friends (young ones) and has inspired many people. How many people is Schuma friends with given he rarely says “sorry” when he means it?

  40. Not being funny, but if Lewis doesn’t want Schumi’s rep, he’s on a hiding to nothing. Not driving is his only option.

    He is a ruthless and aggressive driver who is not going to be polite on the track – quite right too.

    He drives for a top team which, in itself, will disenfranchise 60% of the fans. “He walked into a top team…” Pathetic. I couldn’t do what he does, neither could you.

    Success. People are congratulatory, then jealous, then negative. Success breeds contempt.

    Race. And not talking about Sunday’s main event. There is no denying that there are sad elements within our societies that think colour changes what we are within. People are people. Bigots are, by definition, not part of our society. This IS an issue sadly, but wish this wasn’t part of our sport.

    1. Nobody wants Schuma’s rep. He’s just saying what most aspiring racers out there already know – you want to be a great racer and not a cheater.

      1. Well, people would want Schumacher’s rep as simply one of the greatest.

  41. I think everyone I seeing past the fact that Schumacher and Ferrari were in with the FIA, Schumacher regularly pulled off dangerous moves and nothing was done about this…remember him nurfing Damon off the track? Cheating much?

    Lewis drives fairly. Also everyone seems to blame him for the Alonso tiffs because everyone loves Alonso so much (despite being a complete prat :D) They were both at fault but it was Alonso who cheated, not Lewis.

    Yes, Lewis makes some mistakes, but quite frankly he can’t do anything right without someone randomy deciding they hate him.

    1. I hate Alonso, complete prat,

      I think you need to remember, that the standards have changed, back when Schumacher did stuff in 94 and so on, moves like that were relatively normal! Look at Prost vs Senna and you see a great example of this.

      What I’m saying is that times have changed, Schumacher got in such trouble in 2006 because of this. Hamilton has to race nicely, because everyone has to, side by side Hamilton has done nothing like Schumacher did, but in reality, they are somewhat the same in their attitudes towards the rules.

  42. MS never said he was an angel he never admitted to being a devil. LH thinks he himself is an angel.

  43. Fascinating thread – I only meant to skim read but got engrossed and made it through to the end!

    I have to laugh however, for a knowledgeable bunch, regardless of your preference for one driver or another – how you can begin to compare Michael’s incidents with what’s happened in Lewis’s career is totally beyond me.

    Ok the Australia 09 incident was a blot on the copy book for sure – I don’t think there’s any excusing the way either Lewis or the team acted and they paid for it.

    I ask you though, what other incidents have there been where Lewis has displayed “dirty” tactics!? I think you’re getting mightily confused with instinctive, aggressive racecraft.

    It seems to be the incident singled out so does anyone seriously think his defense of Webber’s dive down the outside of T1 @ Monza was dirty!? Where was Webber going to go exactly!? I wouldn’t criticise Mark for giving it a go and piling on the pressure, but it was late as hell, it was in the wet, he had room to his left that he didn’t use and we’re talking about a margin of perhaps an inch here! LH didn’t clatter into the side of him to take him out, he squeezed the bloke on the outside which is exactly what any driver worth their salt should at that level. In fact you’d expect this at any level, unless we’re talking historic festivals!

    I’m not going to argue Lewis isn’t controversial in terms of the letter of the law, but there’s a big difference between things like remaining alongside Vettel for example, than deliberately taking people out, parking your car up to stop qually and so on.

    Am I delusional or something – it’s absolute night and day to me!?

    1. The easy argument to Lewis “instinctive, aggressive racecraft” is that you has just described Schumacher as well…..

      The argument can be put both ways.

      And I think the Schumacher has big friends in the FIA, although possibly true, is irrelevant. We are discussing their driving habits, not how they got penalised. Correct me if I’m wrong.

  44. Mark in Florida
    14th May 2010, 1:00

    Lewis Hamilton is prattling PRIMA DONA.His sudden sainthood would be humorous if it were not so sickening.What a media suck up jumping on the lets hate Schumi bandwagon.Lewis has no integrity at all he is a cheat just like everyone else.I can`t wait till the media turns on his bratty backside.He can`t help being a screwup it`1l strike again before long.Hamilton is not worthy of holding Michaels used jockstrap.At least Alonso is more circumspect and reasonable when he talks.Thank God for Webber he is always a straight talker even about his own mistakes,much less trying to look like he`s better than someone else.

    1. Webber is a breath of fresh air amongst all the other BS that accompanies almost every other driver.

      1. I think Webber is the only driver I’ve heard saying “I stuffed up”

        1. but according to some, all he does is whinge ……….

  45. ode_nobunaga
    14th May 2010, 1:58

    I think the Schumacher’s problem is that he won too much too easily for way too long… if you went back to his road for championship, 94′ was already screwed after 3 races and schum involved in too many affairs (hidden electronic, justified or unjustified punishment, the final race crash…), 95′ was cleaner, then 97′ final race again, and from 1999 (he might have won this championship without his injurie) to 2004 where he was “help” by any possible actor in F1 : unjustified punishment for his opponents, number 1 driver, way better car that other teams, unpunished crazy starts or defenses… anything was done (on purpose or not) to make him win races and championship very very easily (if i remember well in 2002 he clinched the title during summer…)
    Schum is (or was) a great driver, maybe not the best (compare to hakinen or villeneuve at some point) but he was in the best team, a team totally dedicated to him personnally and with a huge technical/performance advantage (but legal at all points), and even with that he was doing his foolish and dangerous starts, manipulated the race… I didn’t like him from the beginning but i always respected the driver until around 2001/2002… in 2002 there was no races, we already knew the winner at each start and ferrari just made the result they wanted (1-2 in any order)… in my opinion that’s what hurt schum’s reputation that he often (and not always) won very unfairly because of ferrari’s manipulations… the opposite argument is that 2005/2006 made a lot for schum’s reputation whereas he was winning that much, he became a little more popular than he used to be during his winning streak.
    Or maybe is it that we all like loosers…(?)

    1. “maybe not the best (compare to hakinen or villeneuve at some point)”

      How was Villeneuve ever better than Schumacher? The 1996-7 Williams was ridiculously faster than the Ferrari, yet Villeneuve was very nearly beaten to the title by the inferior car. When Schumacher had the fastest car (like 2001, 2002 and 2004) he won easily.

      “but he was in the best team”

      It certainly wasn’t always the best team. Like 1996-1998 for example. He, and the technical staff at Ferrari worked to become the best team. He didn’t just magically walk into the fastest team with the best car, you know.

  46. Sorry to say, but Hamilton is talking out of his backside. How many controversies has he been involved in in his “baby” career? Quite a few, I must say! Schumacher grew up racing Aryton Senna (terrible race craft by the way), and hard nose racers that bang wheels to see who is hardest, of course that race craft will stay with him after all those years. He is of the old breed, and the new breed just can’t grasp it. Hamilton was lucky he didn’t arrive into F1 when Button did and when Schumy dominated, he would have been in Awe of schumy. Don’t worry Hamilton, Schumy is coming FAST (though last hard)!

  47. Let’s see, Hamilton’s legacy against Schumacher… Hamilton had a mechanically perfect car for three years (Australia 2007 – Brazil 2009) and, by the narrowest of possible margins, won just one title. He threw away a 17 point lead with two races to go in 2007. Had Massa had the same reliability as Hamilton’s car, he would have easily taken the championship in 2008. Throw in all the self-inflicted accidents, the way he wears out his tyres, his numerous infractions, and lie-gate and -surprise – he doesn’t stack up too well, does he?

    1. Nathan Bradley
      14th May 2010, 8:57

      I’m sorry, polite disagreement. How can you describe the MP4-24 of 2009 as a ‘mechanically perfect car?’ In the first half of the season it was arguably the worst car McLaren had built since 1979.

      And in the second half of the season LH scored more points than anybody else, including Button, Barrichello, Webber and Vettel, whilst his team mate was still struggling in the midfield.

      I’m not proclaming he’s perfect, nobody is, but IMO he shouldn’t take criticism for the way he drove in 2009.

      Nathan

      1. I didn’t really go into 2009 because LH was never a contender… In fact, I would say Hamilton’s 2009 season was much like Schumacher’s much-maligned 2005 season. I do give both drivers credit for taking their crappy cars to a respectable level in the standings.

        By the way, by ‘mechanically perfect’ I simply meant no breakdowns. Poor design, hitting moving or inanimate objects and tyre failure do not enter into it. Hamilton went from his first race in Australia 2007 up to the last race in 2009 without a mechanical failure of the car. My point is other drivers, especially Schumacher, would have done much better with that golden opportunity.

        1. Nathan Bradley
          14th May 2010, 19:37

          Okay Brian,

          There was the unexplained (I believe, correct me if I’m wrong) electrical glitch at Brazil 2007, which we didn’t really see because ITV, as usual, had a commercial break, one of the most annoying things in motor racing brodcasting.

          Sorry for misunderstanding otherwise!

          Nathan

    2. Indeed Brian. Have to say the initial 2009 car wasn’t the great, but we all saw how rubbish he was back then, not having the best car of the field for the first time.

  48. It’s just part of the (mind) game , hoping it could affect Schumacher negatively somehow.

  49. If Mercedes get a car which can be equally competitive as front-runners by this year or by 2011,then Schumi will once again be at front.I think schumi would be patient.He will work along his team to develope a good car and if he is successful then I have no doubt in my mind that he would beat them all with his consistency.Nobody is a better car developer than Schumi is.He developed Benetton,Ferrari and now he will develope Mercedes.Lewis always had a good car.Nobody knows what would have happened to Lewis if would have in weak team like Toro Rosso or a Minardi.

  50. I’m not a LH or a MS fan.

    MS will take every point possible by any means possible, we all know that.

    LH has never grown up, he doesn’t take responsibility for his actions and he often fails to think before he opens his mouth

  51. He’s not going to be remembered as clean as fair… but at least he says he wants to be. One thing Schumacher would never say.

  52. I think of Hamilton I remember him for:
    lie gate with Trulli
    causing an incident at Fuji with Vettel
    saying that Webber is a pensioner
    saying that Button won his championship for luck while he deserved
    Having been stopped in Melbourne for speeding while you are a promoter of “make roads safe”.
    to be the first driver to start with a car able to win the championship
    AND HONESTLY I don’t remember any great race from this guy!
    let me think…


    any suggestions?

    1. Hey man Im not a Lewis fan either. I do kind of agree with most of your points, however Hamilton gave Alonso a real run for his money in his rookie season. And Alonso was probably the best driver on the grid that year.. so I do have a lot of respect for his skills in the car.

      Thats more than I can say Schumi.. I never respected him within the car or out of it. Alonso beating his behind out of formula 1 was one of the greatest moments in sport for me.

    2. “HONESTLY I don’t remember any great race from this guy”

      You had me until “I think”

  53. As Salty said here:

    “Success. People are congratulatory, then jealous, then negative. Success breeds contempt”

    If you were chosen by McLaren at the age of 11, would you be able to achieve what Lewis did?

    I remember seeing in the BBC documentary there was a young kid aged around 10 or below with all the Mclaren/Mercedes/Shell or whatnot sponsorship just standing there before a carting race. Lewis was a kid too, up against many others who had real sponsors – but he had his dad (who had two jobs).

    Where is that other guy now?

  54. What a useless post!! Takes the wrong sentences from the interview that can be seen in two ways and only takes the negative side of them … Looks like somebody is getting desperate to get some attention and comments on the board … cheap trick!

  55. Hamilton is not my favourite driver, but the fact is he’s been in F1 for three and a bit seasons and near as dammit blown everyone off the track. Simply the best racer out there. I think some people dislike him just for being a good driver. Also most of the controversies people have flagged up about him are off-track things and personality clashes.

    Schumacher was a cheat on the track (the WHOLE ’94 season, Jerez ’97, Monaco ’06) and never let a team mate race him. In my opinion you could have put anyone in the Ferrari between 2000-04 and they would probably have walked off with all five titles.

    Can you blame Lewis for saying he wouldn’t want all that on his record?

  56. @Taurus wrote “In my opinion you could have put anyone in the Ferrari between 2000-04 and they would probably have walked off with all five titles.”

    Not true. Schumacher was key in developing the Ferrari over many seasons into the winner that it was. No driver worked harder than Schumacher to develop a car. Hamilton walked into F1 with the best car and added little or nothing to its development.

  57. As a regular visitor of the blog during races, I do have to apologise for the ill advised comments of others although I am a HAM fan. The questions directed at him in the interview were speculations, but in the end we all know the only legacy that matters is achievements while the rest is left for the sponsors to decide as Tiger Woods found out.

  58. You have to break rules to get the crown. Macbeth me thinks…

  59. I only started watching F1 the last 8 years and Hamilton is the best i have seen so far. Extremely gifted, fearless, exciting, great overtaker. He is great at everything. Others like Alonso or Vettel lack something in one department.

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