Hamilton: Villeneuve and Mansell ‘should keep opinions to themselves’

F1 Fanatic round-up

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In the round-up: Lewis Hamilton responds to champions’ comments on his future

Links

Top F1 links from the past 24 hours:

Hamilton says focus is on winning races (BBC)

“I find it kind of funny. Certain people, I’m not sure that anyone really cares what some of those people are talking about, or their opinions. I think that if you have an opinion, just keep it to yourself.”

How race promoters try to shape F1′s rules (Autosport, subscription required)

“As no less than eight promoters sit on the Formula 1 Commission – almost one-third of the total complement of 26 seats – the question of their overall influence is obviously an issue, particularly as [Australian Grand Prix chairman Ron] Walker believes the circuits are able to hold F1 to ransom over an unknown quantity, namely the sound of engines that have yet to be designed, let alone tested or raced.”

Ross Brawn – ‘Nothing Ever Stays The Same’ (The Race Driver)

“Cars are born 12, 18 months before you see them. The car we ran last year was conceived long before Michael joined us. Trying to win the championship in ’09 with a pretty slimmed-down team didn’t leave a lot to spare for the build of a good car for 2010. I think our 2011 car is not bad. It’s the first car designed by John Owen, our new chief designer; it’s the first complete car he’s designed. So I think it’s pretty impressive but it’s not where we want to be. John’s next car will for sure be a lot better.”

A good car now is a good step for 2012 (Ferrari)

“If we are competitive in England, then it confirms we have improved a lot and have reduced the gap to the other teams. We will also see how much we have improved our performance with the Hard Pirelli tyres, which we have not used them since Barcelona.”

Doughnuts galore if happy Button can win at Silverstone (The Independent)

“You can’t do those track invasions any more because of health and safety, but they’re amazing to watch. And we aren’t allowed to pick up flags any more, and it would be nice to do that, too. So if I win I would be doing doughnuts even if they aren’t allowed either; I wouldn’t care about that by that point.”

Vettel eyes British success

“If the German laps Silverstone half as fast this weekend as he did the Top Gear test track in deepest, darkest Surrey he will be celebrating a double victory come Sunday night when a special British GP-themed episode of the show is broadcast.”

CT in line to host Grand Prix (Eye Witness News)

“According to [Bernie] Ecclestone, negotiations for its return are in the final stages. ‘I’m hoping we can make a decision as soon as our lawyers have a good look at them… within the next couple of weeks.’”

Construction Site timelapse: June 1 – June 30 (YouTube)

Senna wins audience award (Working Title)

“Senna has won the Audience Award for Best International Feature at the LA Film Festival.”

Yesterday and tomorrow (Grand Prix)

“Technicians of tomorrow are easier to find thanks to F1 in Schools, an initiative that has the blessing of the F1 teams and encourages school kids to design and build miniature projectiles powered by an explosion of CO2.”

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Comment of the day

Girts on Daniel Ricciardo’s forthcoming F1 debut:

I like Ricciardo. He is positive, good looking and smiles a lot. His answers to the media questions are actually interesting to read/hear. It’s much too soon to declare him a future world champion and he has to prove himself yet. But the signs are good.

I don’t think it’s necessarily bad to start a career with a backmarker team. Alonso drove a Minardi in his first year. The engineers will see Ricciardo’s true potential anyway, no matter how bad the car is.

What I don’t like is that he will need to spend a lot of time letting the other cars lap him, which is something he probably isn’t used to. I have recently started to think that the idea of getting rid of the blue flags is actually not that stupid.
Girts

From the forum

Considering an extra F1 Fanatic Live for this weekend’s IndyCar race at Toronto – post here if you’re interested.

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Added some more accounts to the F1 Fanatic Twitter Directory including Pastor Maldonado’s race engineer Xevi Pujolar and Jerome d’Ambrosio’s race engineer Mark Hutcheson:

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On this day in F1

Nigel Mansell won the first F1 race held at the Circuit Nevers on this day 20 years ago.

Mansell passed home hero Alain Prost to win, leading home the French driver who was using the new Ferrari 643 for the first time.

Ayrton Senna completed the podium in third place.

Author information

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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130 comments on “Hamilton: Villeneuve and Mansell ‘should keep opinions to themselves’”

  1. Hmm, not sure why Hamilton thinks his opinions are any better than Villeneuve’s or Mansell’s…

    1. Except Hamilton didn’t mention Villeneuve or Mansell, or say his opinions are better than theirs.

      1. Exactly. I think the title is a misquote.

        He could have been referring to Lauda’s comments or anyone else’s.

        1. No, I think the title is a lie.

        2. I think the title is a misquote.

          A misquote from Keith, I suppose…

      2. Indeed, what is with the title of this article? It kind of suggests he names Villeneuve and Mansell personally, although strictly of course the quotations are in the correct place. Hmmmm.

        1. Sorry, I know it’s easy to criticise but best to be honest I guess. I’m not sure I agree with Hamilton that people should keep their opinions to themselves however, if I did I wouldn’t be posting any comments!

      3. I think we’ve had enough criticism of Lewis by now. It’s almost four weeks since Canada, in Valencia he did nothing wrong and he should be left alone. Until he crashes into everyone on lap 1 at Silverstone, there is nothing to blame him for. And even in that case, after 3 days the story ends. It can’t go on forever.

        1. I agree. Monaco and Canada are long gone, and until he crashes into someone again, I think we need to give him a break.

    2. He just thinks he is Senna, and that everyone hates him and is against him. But no, he is not good as Senna was, and everyone loved Ayrton. But if Hamilton continues to act as he is, of and on the track, soon everyone is going to ignore and hate him.

      1. Valentino, lay off the Haterade. Not everyone loved Ayrton, and not everyone loves Lewis. That being said, not everyone loves Alonso, and certainly not everyone loves Schumacher, all of whom are/were some of the best talents this sport has ever seen. Whether or not Lewis is as good as Ayrton is not the issue here- and even if it were, many could make the argument that Lewis may be just as talented as he was (although, just as rightly, many may argue that he is not). Lewis is simply answering questions from journalists, and you, sitting on your couch at home, have the audacity to psychoanalyze the guy- give me a break. That being said, why does Mansell seem to dislike Hamilton so much? I feel like every time Mansell talks about Lewis, it’s in a very patronizing and disagreeable manner.

        1. As I said, because Hamilton thinks he is Senna.

          1. Hamilton doesn’t think he is Senna. Senna is simply his inspiration.

          2. @David A

            There are numerous occasion where Hamilton compares himself to Senna. And this started in his early days. In fact on one interview back in 2008 he was quoted as saying: “I know that I am as good as Ayrton Senna was.” he actually denied that he said he was “better” but instead later said that he was as good, which is a little disturbing. Do a search and you find plenty of articles on it. Sure everyone is aware that Hamilton is not actually physically Senna, but it is his attitude and personal thoughts about himself and other drivers that matter, and I believe that is what Valentino is referring to. here is another example:

            http://www.formula1blog.com/2011/03/29/hamilton-im-senna-and-alonso-is-prost/

            What Hamilton truly “thinks”, he revealed back in Monaco.

          3. @Maksutov

            +1

          4. tolgakaranlik
            7th July 2011, 9:45

            @Maksutov

            +1 too

          5. Oh come on Maksutov, this thing has been done to death so many times. ‘If I were Senna.’ If. There is no other way to interpret the quote than in the speculative sense. Unless of course you want it to mean something else.

            Oh, but you might say, what about the ‘I know that I am as good as Ayrton Senna was’ quote? Except when you do a google search, you quickly find out that the source of the quote isn’t very reliable at all – an ‘unnamed veteran journalist’ and Sport-Bild. In short, there’s no credibility to it.

            So no, there aren’t ‘numerous occasions’.

        2. agree 100% especially about the Mansell comments

        3. Sorry, Hamilton has shown time and time again that not only does he want to be Senna on the track (and there’s certainly nothing wrong with that) but he wants to be persecuted and looked at as a martyr, even though he’s done so very little to deserve any of those tropes Senna is now (or then) tied with.

        4. Talking of people who seem to dislike Hamilton so much, does any of you follow Dr Vee on Twitter or read his blog?

        5. Maksutov, if Lewis had ever said, ” I know that I am as good as Ayton Senna was “, would have caused a meldtown in the motoring racing world and press. Maksutov your so-called quote is a typical example from those who just make things up, or use un-reliable sources to discredit him, ever since he entered the sport. Why haven’t the biggest names in motoracing journalism have not reported on this explosive quote?….do you have any idea why they haven’t Maksutov…..because it never happened!!!

      2. Senna he is not, nor do I think he thinks he is.

        Although like Senna could, he does play the martyr very well.

        1. Agree,..
          A martyr (Greek: μάρτυς, mártys, “witness”; stem μάρτυρ-, mártyr-) is somebody who suffers persecution and death for refusing to renounce a belief or cause, usually religious.

          1. Gosh and with those remarkable powers to copy-paste from a dictionary, who could doubt the wisdom of your opinion on anything? Truly Hamilton should give up racing now in the face of your awesome talents.

          2. Sure, but let’s define everything. Given the many definitions of the verb, I’ll spell out the one I meant.

            play (pl) v.tr.
            4. To pretend to be; mimic the activities of.

      3. Everyone loved Ayrton ?

        I’m guessing you never visited France in the late 80s or early 90s :-)

        1. France hates the rest of the World, and the rest of the World doesn’t care about France, if I may put it that way,.. :D

          1. You think he thinks he is like Senna; you are the one making him a martyr – basically you are creating things in your mind that do not exist. Try psychoanalyse yourself.

    3. Why is it that reporters or journalists have to go beyond what people actually say? The President of a small nation said: “Please do not put words in my mouth that I did not say. And please do not put thoughts in my head that I haven’t had.”

      If we sum up the quotes unquotes of F1 since2007, why is it that 50% of them or more have LH at their core? No other driver gets as much scrutiny and publicity as he does!

      A Mystery to me.

    4. Well, I would think that his opinion on what he does or should do will be of more interest to him than that of others in the media.

      1. Hamilton said some where else the only one who’s opinion could effect him about his driving was Senna. I’m sure that is true to a large extinct but he has to appear a bit more humble or nearly everyone is going to start hating him.

        Like how many die hard Mansell fans think lowly of him now? He has also said some less than flattering words about Schumi. Way he is going he is going to have insulted every former champ in last 30 years before he has retired.

        As for the Senna talk this clip below says it all http://www.f1revs.com/2011/06/hamsta-coming-to-cinema-near-you.html

    5. Regardless of who he is talking about, I agree with Noelinho here, he says keep your opinions to yourself while giving us his opinion that (if what he says is true) should also be kept to himself….

      In reality, I want to hear the former racers opinions and Hamiltons, but I don’t really like it when people defend themselves by effectively saying ‘shut up’….

      1. Villeneuve was using the word stupid a lot – i would tell him to shut up as well if i was Lewis

    6. Yeah, its an extremely hypocritical thing to say. I don’t care it it was a misquote and he didn’t mention Villeneuve or Mansell, just saying that people should keep their opinions to themselves is extremely hypocritical, as 1st of all, what he is saying is HIS opinion, 2nd when he says things that makes people hate on him, his excuse is always that “it was just his opinion”.

      Also, +1 to Maksutov

  2. Can’t be bothered logging on at this early hour, but I’d be up for a special Indy Car blog, I’m getting quite into it just now. Last time I watched my first race with live timing, followed Dario Franchitti lead for hundreds of laps before he just fell out of contention, but it was good, road track next time out though isn’t it?

    1. polishboy808
      7th July 2011, 0:14

      Yup, its at Edmonton, in Canada. Fun race to watch.

      1. Actually Edmonton is the one after the next one. Edmonton isn’t just a street circuit – it’s at an airport! Not even F1 with its night race and twilight race does that.

        1. I see now that you probably meant “the one after the next one” too! Sorry (said in a Canadian accent)!

        2. polishboy808
          7th July 2011, 0:24

          Yeah, I got my Canadian races mixed up, sorry. Still, Toronto always has a lot of Chaos, so its also really fun to watch. But yeah, no other race is like Edmonton, it just looks so bizarre seeing them cross over onto the airport runway!

          1. DeadManWoking
            7th July 2011, 2:49

            You never saw the Cleveland GP which was held at Burke Lakefront Airport for 26 years until 2007, and Sebring which hosted the first US GP in 1959 as well as a premier sports car event for 60 years? And of course Silverstone started out as an airport circuit, along with many others post WWII.

        3. Prisoner Monkeys
          7th July 2011, 2:40

          Edmonton isn’t just a street circuit – it’s at an airport! Not even F1 with its night race and twilight race does that.

          Uh, Silverstone is an airfield. Granted, it’s not an active one, but it is an airfield. You can clearly see the runways in aerial photos. It was previously known as RAF Silverstone and used during World War II. When the war was over, it was purchased for use as a racing circuit, like amny other airfields.

          1. Silverstone *was* an airfield a few helicopters land there a few times a year, bit it’s been a long time since Silverstone was an airport in the same way that Edmonton still is. And since the redevelopment of Silverstone, it’s even less obvious that it was once an airfield. The one remaining useable runway now has a pit building and paddock on it. Edmonton, however, is very much an airport.

            I’m looking forward to the return of the IndyCars to road courses, I’ve lost track since the race in Brazil, as the ovals don’t interest me as much. I’ll have to do some catching up on Wikipedia.

          2. Edmonton actually uses the airports infrastructure for the track, runways, taxiways etc:

          3. Silverstone’s runway hasn’t been used as part of the circuit since 1948.

          4. Come Sunday, it will be not just active, but the busiest active airport in Great Britain – as is usually the case on Grand Prix weekends. Trust me – I live under the flightpath!

        4. A bit of a rash remark just before Goodwood.

  3. Once again, the press manipulating. He never mentioned Villeneuve and Mansell.His answer was for all the criticism he’s getting. But I’m not surprised at all. Look what’s going on with NOTW.

  4. Rather strange quote from Hamilton. Can’t really understand why he said it, or what the purpose was.

    1. Misleading headline to say the least. Lewis just responded to a question, never mentioned anybody’s name. Seriously, this guy says ONE thing and groups of people find fault.

      1. No it’s not, the headline is entirely correct within context. Hamilton was responding to a question about comments made by Jacques Villeneuve and Nigel Mansell.

        1. If thats the case then wny not show where Hamiton actually mentions Mansell and Villeneuve rather than a vid intimating past racing drivers. its no wonder this story is getting negative posts saying its not correct. If true I think its folly on Hamiltons part to mention Mansell with him being steward at Silverstone this weekend

        2. When does the questioner mention Villeneuve and Nigel Mansell? Perhaps Lewis is just talking about the Mansell and Lauda comments. I dunno, but I’m not sure this can be assumed can it?

        3. Wasn’t Villeneuve’s opinion rather positive regarding Hamilton? (Basically acknowledging his racing credo.) Or even those with such opinions should keep them to themselves?

        4. Do you have a quote of the question asked of Lewis? Nowhere does he mention anyone specifically – I had presumed (when first watching this vid & before various news sites went with the Villeneuve & Mansell headlines) that Lewis was referring to journalists.

          1. I’m not that concerned as to whether LH names JV or NM as people who should keep their opinions to themselves…I’ll take Keith’s word that those drivers names and their opinions were brought up to LH in an interview. The fact remains I did hear/see the video of JV opining on LH, and I agree with JV, and if anything LH should take something from it. JV basically says, I’m paraphrasing, that in a few of the races LH has forgotten to drive with his head which I read into that he has been driving with his heart (ie. letting emotion take over) as he has been frustrated this year, and hasn’t kept concentration on the job at hand at all times. The multiple incidents he has been in recently, sometimes multiple within one race are no doubt the genesis of JV’s thoughts.

            BTW not sure if JV just took it upon himself to make these comments or was he asked and therefore simply answered a question just as LH has done.

            As I say I think LH should heed JV’s words because I think he is exactly right. I think JV also says that if LH used his head more he would be amazing.

            In other words, if LH is actually offended by what JV said then LH does seem to me to have issues.

        5. I guess it would have helped people on this topic to hear the interviewer’s question in the video clip, not just LH’s response.

          I also think that if it is true as LH says that he doesn’t read this stuff and is only briefed on who has been saying what ahead of interviews such as was taking place, then I don’t know if LH even grasped that JV threw some compliments in there too, and that LH could perhaps take something from that. JV is exactly right in his comments and I’m not sure LH realizes that or just took his handler’s word that it was negative.

          Anyway, LH of all people knows that everyone is entitled to their opinion, he even says that, and I think he also realizes that if people had no opinion on him, or kept their opinions on him to themselves, it would mean he was a non-factor and wouldn’t be nearly as rich and popular as he is.

  5. Hamilton really needs to knuckle down and let his racing do the talking.

    1. Which is basically what he said in the interview. Though don’t let mere reality spoil your plot line.

  6. Wow… thank goodness I actually watched the interview before commenting based on the headline. It’s awfully misleading, IMO.

  7. @Franz…I agree completley, I cannot find anywhere in any article where Hamilton mentions Mansel or Villeneuve.

  8. Lewis never mentioned either drivers’ name in the video…I fail to see how your headline, Keith, is representative of the actual content. Yellow Journalism at its finest…and frankly im a bit surprised, owing to the quality of this site.

    1. See my comment above.

      1. Did the Interviewer actually mention those two though? Only then can you make that correlation.

        1. Why arent you responding to everyone asking if the interviewer actually mentioned those two, Keith?

  9. Prisoner Monkeys
    7th July 2011, 1:31

    “According to [Bernie] Ecclestone, negotiations for its return are in the final stages. ‘I’m hoping we can make a decision as soon as our lawyers have a good look at them… within the next couple of weeks.’”

    Just so long as it’s not that rubbishy chicane-heacy proposition that was put forward earlier this year.

    1. DeadManWoking
      7th July 2011, 2:30

      Grrr, I had visions of F1 cars flying around Lime Rock Park until I clicked on and read the article. :(

      1. Prisoner Monkeys
        7th July 2011, 2:37

        Well, I don’t know how you got that, because the URL clearly shows that it is a South African website, and the section Keith quoted mentions “a return” – how can Formula 1 return to a place it has never visited?

        Besides, Lime Rock Park is far too short and far too small for Formula 1. It would be worse than a race at Laguna Seca.

        1. DeadManWoking
          7th July 2011, 2:57

          Just read the headline and clicked, CT = Connecticut over here.

          1. I thought the same.

          2. Prisoner Monkeys
            7th July 2011, 4:38

            Well, more fool you for not actually reading what was posted.

  10. Mr.Zing Zang
    7th July 2011, 2:11

    Bad Journalism Kieth. Hamilton was not responding to Mansel or Villenueve

    1. Prisoner Monkeys
      7th July 2011, 2:23

      You do realise that the round-up is just a collection of articles from other sources that have appeared overnight but are not really big enough to warrant their own article here, right? All Keith is doing is re-posting those links. If an article implies something that isn’t expressly true, it’s the fault of the person who wrote the article and not the guy who re-posted it.

      1. Neither the BBC site nor the interview snippet mention Mansell or Villeneuve, so as far as I can tell it’s not actually a question of reposting.

  11. Come on guy’s, Keith is just as human as everyone else and mistakes happen. Just be thankful that someone has created such a wonderful website.

    As for Hamilton. I dont think he has to behave or think like he is Senna, he has made a name for himself and will be regarded as a good driver. He does make a ton of pointless comments but thats just the way he is and you cant change that.

    1. True and true. As for the pointless comments, they obviously often come in response to pointless questions! The fact is we only to get to hear Hamilton’s because he’s more newsworthy.

      1. Yeah, pointless answers to pointless questions.. no problem. And agree that all this fuss due to his newsworthy value…
        Funny thing is, still people who hate him gargles around. Let them be.

    2. I think a lot of the comments have nothing to do with Keith and his excellent website but rather the general tone towards Hamilton in the press that some fans are getting fed up with.

  12. Prisoner Monkeys
    7th July 2011, 2:21

    Interesting little twist on News Corp.’s bid to buy the rights to Formula 1. I don’t know if this will directly affect the state of play, but Rupert Murdoch has announced his support for Rebekah Brooks, the current editor of News of the World. For those of you playing at home, NOTW is currently at the centre of a scandal that alleges they hired a private investigator to hack into the phones of murder victims and dead soldiers and delete voicemail messages to create more available space on the phone. I can only imagine that they did this so that more sympathetic phone calls would be left on the phone and the paper would have a better story to run. It’s a big deal because it’s tampering with ongoing investigations and potentially destroying evidence. I’ve heard some 200 or more murder cases – most of them involving children – will need to be reviewed because of NOTW’s actions. It’s so serious that there will be an inquiry into the matter. With Murdoch supporting Brooks, the government has been forced to delay their decision on Murdoch’s proposed takeover of BSkyB. In fact, it would probably delay any decision that gets made related to takeovers and acquisition. Like, say, Formula 1.

    1. I wouldn’t want that crazy rabid Murdoch to get into anything, less so in something I love as F1.

    2. Yes PM but thankfully Rebekah Brooks as chief executive of News Corps will now investigate Rebekah Brooks as editor of NOTW, the metropolitan police will investigate the backhanders to the metropolitan police and the UK government will launch an inquiry into UK government inertia. That’s what I call an accountable system!

      As for Formula 1, well thankfully it’s run by people of the calibre and honesty of Ecclestone, Mosely and Briatore, so no worries there.

      1. +1 COTD!

    3. Not to mention, this might well have a big influence on Murdoch taking over the BSky satelite network.

    4. Unfortunately I can’t see this whole hacking issue delaying anything where Murdoch or Sky are involved: David Cameron is totally in Murdoch’s pocket and believes the sun shines out of him. The government have already started saying that the NOTW situation has no bearing on any other part of Murdoch’s activities, so prepare for a nice easy whitewash of the whole thing.

  13. dyslexicbunny
    7th July 2011, 2:50

    And here i was hoping jenson was going to hand out a bunch of krispy kremes. Drats.

  14. Why isn’t Doughnuts allowed in F1 anymore?

    1. FIA rule I think.

      Probably wouldn’t see it if it were allowed any way. Teams are already worried about cars coming in underweight, they’d have a fit at their driver if half a pound of rubber was left on the track in the victory lap.

    2. There’s a rule in the Sporting Regulations which discourages drivers from doing victory celebrations – it’s something like “drivers must return to the pits immediately after the race”.

      1. The last time I saw any driver doing doughnuts after the race was Lewis Hamilton at Silverstone in 2009 after the chequered flag – He wanted to basically excite and say thanks to his british fans (at the Luffield corner) which was fantastic and it shows how much Lewis adores his loyal fans.

        It says alot about Lewis when he risks getting in trouble with the FIA, stewards and police just so he can give something back his loyal followers – all the other drivers are miserable who usually run off & ignore whenever the fans are close by – unless its a PR moment set up by their teams.

        Im not sure if Lewis got in trouble for it after the race – didnt hear anything about it. But many critisize Lewis for no reason as usual – Does any other driver go so far to appreciate his fans? – Not as far as Ive seen!

        There is footage of it on youtube where one silly idiot sticks 2 fingers up at Lewis as hes coming round but when Lewis comes over to do the doughnuts the guy along with the rest of the fantastic crowd give massive cheers & claps.

        Lewis is the only driver who risks himself getting into trouble just for pleasing his fans – only to him it is worth it.

        Godbless you Lewis Hamilton!

        1. “all the other drivers are miserable who usually run off & ignore whenever the fans are close by”

          You’ve seen this right, I mean you must’ve regularly experienced this at Grand Prix to say that, right? And you’re saying this happens most of the time, right? Every driver except LH, every last one except LH has NO time for their fans?

          I don’t buy it.

      2. Yes, it’s also the same rule that prevents drivers from collecting flags to celebrate their wins too. I do think it’s a shame, but I do wonder what the FIA and stewards would do if the rule was repeatedly broken. I expect sanctioning and fines are the only punishments they could really get away with.

        43.3 After receiving the end-of-race signal all cars must proceed on the circuit directly to the post race parc
        fermé without any unnecessary delay, without receiving any object whatsoever and without any assistance
        (except that of the marshals if necessary).

  15. I don’t think the move in Mclaren is happening until he & Dennis have a big fight over something.As Mansell said to achieved multiple WC you have to work with the team just as Schumacher did in his era.

    1. But it takes maturity, wisdom, experience etc. Lewis is an excellent racing driver but his actions lately, as well as his comments, reflect lack of above mentioned virtues.

      1. I have to add that for a long time I haven’t seen comment with so much disrespect. He should be ashamed.
        Nigel worked extremely hard to win his single championship in 1992. No matter how many championships Lewis will win I’ll always rate Nigel’s single championship 10 times of greater value, for good reasons, of course …

  16. i’m a sucker for the timelapse. the music and the clouds.. love it!

    1. Me too! Pity it doesn’t show much though.

  17. Looks like Vettel is the new top track record holder.

    1. Top Gear that is.

  18. I’m amused by some of the british media trying to strengthen the “anti-Hamilton” movement they are part of. But a bit surprised to see http://www.F1fanatic.co.uk part of the trash. Feel sorry for people who believe everything they read on papers.

    1. This isn’t in a newspaper, this is a video of Hamilton and the quote is verbatim, so I don’t know what you’re complaining about.

      1. ? . . . . Creative media editing does create interest, intrigue and stirs up emotions, and opinions. Of course it also pulls in the numbers. especially on this debate?

    2. What part of the trash? Linking to a video of Hamilton answering questions?

      How can that be bad. Its the guy himself saying what he thinks!

      1. Whenever I start thinking that the anti-Hamilton commenters have reached the bottom of the barrel in ridiculous unfounded accusations, the pro-Hamilton ones show up and keep on scraping away.

        Hamilton says that people should keep their opinions to themselves, and Mansell and Villeneuve have both been giving their opinons directly about Hamilton, so it isn’t ‘media manipulation’ to put two and two together and make four. Maybe some people might be better off dedicating their campaign for truth in media at things that actually matter…

        1. But that’s just it. Putting 2 and 2 together, drawing conclusions. That’s not exactly reporting the facts.

  19. Dave,
    remember that the media’s “anti-Hamilton” movemement brings just as much popularity as the “pro-Hamilton” movement if there are things such called. It’s like saying smoking is bad for you but then tobacco is not less popular (quite opposite, actually) and tobacco companies still increase their profits.
    Flashback to “anti-Schumacher” era, it certainly brought him a great chunk of popularity besides his driving and all other his qualities.
    Besides, F1fanatic.co.uk is the best site out there because does not miss a single thing about f1 and beyond even when it re-posts the other press.
    Hey, life is just as interesting for us, f1 fans having Hamilton and the press.lol

  20. I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again:

    For someone who never says anything vaguely silly or controversial, Hamilton does get “misquoted” an awful lot.

    1. Oh yes, I’m with you on this. He reaps what he has sown. But it still makes his name popping up here and there, doesn’t it? I don’t see Button getting half of the media attention that Hamilton gets.

  21. Lewis Train Wreck Hamilton…

    I just cant look away….

  22. Accidental Mick
    7th July 2011, 9:07

    South Africa: another [expletive deleted] street circuit. Ecclestone has got to go.

  23. Without blue flags, teams like HRT would deliberately hold up lapping cars in an attempt to get time on camera, thus pleasing their sponsors.

    I actually think if a car gets lapped three or four times during a race, it should be disqualified.

  24. Thanks a lot for the COTD award. What a wonderful surprise! I read F1F every day, haven’t commented much so far but the 2nd COTD is very encouraging :)

    About Hamilton. I don’t agree with what he says about people saying their opinions. I think thousands of opinions are a natural part of F1 so one should just accept that. However, I think Hamilton is a great personality and that he is exactly what F1 needs so one shouldn’t demand apology from Lewis every time he says something politically incorrect like after Monaco GP. I mean, let’s speak about him and let him speak, too.

  25. Lewis eats hotdog without ketchup.

    comments 235

  26. “I think that if you have an opinion, just keep it to yourself.”

    An interesting opinion. Should have kept it to himself.

    1. I suppose the same could be said to yourself, or myself for writing this to you. The only difference is Lewis was asked for his opinion.

  27. As far as Hamilton’s career choices go Mansell and Villeneuve should keep their opinions to their selves. They are not part of his management and, after the career choices they made, only a fool would trust their judgement. Just two more of the holier-than-thou attention whores who have realize that mentioning Hamilton’s name keeps you in the media spotlight.

  28. Actually, Hamilton should start listening to people who are far better drivers than he’ll ever be.

    1. So he can go on ignoring Villeneuve & Mansell then ?

  29. I think Hamilton shows a certain lack of respect for other drivers when he comes up against them whether on the track or in the media. However, he must be sick of the same questions and I’m a bit bored of it now so I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt :P

    1. Lack of respect is the perfect way to put it.
      It would have been much different to say ‘everyone is entitled to their own opinion’.

    2. Hamilton wanted to be a media friendly & role model driver ever since he entered the sport in 2007. Unlike other drivers, Hamilton gives the media way too much priority, and that is why when drivers start criticizing him, he really cant handle it.

  30. Keith yesterday I asked if there are any problems with this website as I keep getting error message everytime the site refreshes – The error messages say that there is a problem with the website and my tabs keep needing to be recovered evertime the page refreshes. Im asking this question again as I cant seem to find my message from yesterday to see if there was a response.

    This problem seems to have been happening since last week – all other sites are fine but its just this one that seems to give my PC problems.

    Any idea Keith?

    1. Supa Six, try sending keith an email about your problem, this is not the place to make contact. See, even an old fart can learn, albeit slowly.

    2. Yeah drop me a line via the contact form, include as much info as possible especially your browser details.

      https://www.racefans.net/credits-and-contacts/contact-f1fanatic/

  31. wasnt universally popular here in the uk to be honest. mystic tosser i used to think!! fabulous driver but as has been said a fillion times he set new lows in driver conduct on the track.

    No driver ever gets called the NEW LAUDA but he was the only man ever to get the better of Enzo in contract discussions. So i think his opinions are at least worth a listen.

  32. Tabloid tactics Keith? Nowhere does Lewis name Mansell or Villenueve.

    Smacks of drawing in the punters for the inevitables flame war. Hope the advertising revenue is worth it.

    1. Unless of course Keith is being truthful when he says it is the interviewer who mentions their names, and therefore LH’s response is aimed at those who the interviewer named. Unfortunately we don’t get to hear the interviewer’s question, just LH’s response.

  33. LH has become a believer of the legend he has become in his own mind.
    Look, he is no Senna and no Prost and any hopes of being what Michael Schumacher was in his hay day are beyond his reach.
    He has become so full of himself that he cannot be taken seriously.
    McLaren would be best to let him go and focus on Jensen and get someone like diResta in the fold.
    JV learned the hard way and NM has age and also hard lessons in his career to fall back on. When these guys speak at least have the courtesy to listen and say thanks. Whether you work on the advice given is another issue but don’t disparage the givers of that advice publicly.
    LH cannot get on with his own father to whom he owes his career. That says it all.
    He is an arrogant, self centered individual lacking in class and indeed common sense.
    All this from someone who was until recently a huge fan.
    Go Jens!

  34. Wow anything for eye balls…but then you could have played the ______ card.

  35. Hope the Aussie’s don’t catch wind of Button’s hoon like proposition ;)

    I didn’t know that about the W02, well that bit about John Owen. Hope they manage to squeeze out a better car next year.

  36. I think we’re giving too much importance to Hamilton’s quotes/unquotes. I think he needs to win another WDC or two (without killing anyone) to gain this attention. 2007 WDC 2nd and then 1st, 5th, 4th and currently 4th with a top car (since his debut)

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