What is Happening to Lewis Hamilton?
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Despite being an Alonso fan, i get no pleasure seeing hamilton on such a low. Whats happeing? In my opinion it is severe bad luck that is leading to and exaggerating his struggles:
Singapore: Excellent start but then gets swamped into first corner due to him having to pull out of throttle.
+ Tyre puncture in Q2, Fuelling issues for second run in Q3 (From the sector times it is guaranteed he would have been a front row starter if not have challenged for pole, in first run he lost 2/10ths in middle sector to JB due to AlO being in close company, + he would have gained time from his tyres being up to temp compared with first run, to prove this, ALO gaines 7/10ths in his second run from tyres being up to temp).
Monaco: Again in Q3 was guaranteed a front row start if not challenge for pole, and it being monaco starting 7th or whatever prevented him for challenging for victory causing him to get over aggressive and incidents etc.. which led to more Criticism post race.
Monza: Mostly his own fault but again nothing going his way, getting stuck behind the rediculously fast Mercs of SCHUMI and thus not being able to challenge for victory.
and the list goes on…….
Overall, the bad luck he’s enduring currently is denting his confidence as he is recieving ever more criticism after pretty much every race.
A great racing driver who was being compared to Senna in 07 is going down unfortunately, very quickly from being the best is becoming the worst in terms of clumsiness overtaker in F1
I don’t know. At China he seemed when he won he seemed to be massively enjoying himself. He’d had a horrible start to the race day morning and there were concerns about the car but he came through and gave us a Hamilton performance where he wouldn’t quit, revelled in the challenge and won anyway. Now he just seems frustrated and miserable and when something does go wrong he’s been on the radio a couple of times to ask whether there’s any point in carrying on. He just doesn’t seem to have that enthusiasm at the minute but seems stressed out and fed up as oppose to JB or Alonso who are just getting on with it. Germany seemed like he was getting back on track after his PR break but then an error at Hungary looked to have put him right back to square 1.
There’s been rumours about his commitment to Mclaren, he’s complaining about his work load which I can understand because if it was me I’d hate the PR days esp the amount Mclaren make him do but he has to be careful in case he comes off ungrateful.
He also doesn’t seem like the most popular guy in the paddock right now with all of the scraps he’s getting in to and his comments at Monaco didn’t do anything to show that he has that much respect for other drivers (as PM pointed out).
That said, I still think Hamilton’s one of the best, a naturally more gifted driver than JB and I hope and think that he will come back stronger next year.
He had given up on the Championship and focused on learning new maneuver techniques and overtakes instead
A friend of mine said something which I think is pretty interesting. I thought my friend was joking at first, but it actually made a bit more sense to me as time went on.
He says that Hamilton right now is building for a future. He is crashing a lot right now, but it builds fear. It builds it in such a way that the next time someone sees him in their mirrors, they’re more likely to yield as they’re scared of a collision. This weekend for example I remember one of Lewis’s overtakes was very easy as the other driver backed off. I think it was Sutil.
I can see your point, and I think it is a vary valid and good point raymondu999, though that may not be the best example as Sutil and Hamilton are good mates, so may just not want to trip over each other.
It’s a shame as I always have followed Lewis, and I hope next year he will be fresher. I think if he starts well, he won’t be on the back foot, and maybe he will be better.
Here’s what I don’t get. He’s always saying that he prefers to be chasing, rather than the championship leader. But when he’s chasing; he starts saying things about how the car’s not the best on the grid etc. So which is it!?
He’s a bit frustrated at the moment and when you get in that mindset nearly nothing can go right. He hasn’t had a truely competitive car for the 3rd year now and he got plastered in the championship.
Hamilton is still a fantastic driver and this may do him good overall. I hope he comes back more cautious but still as fast.
It’s not important because Button’s winning the title this year. :D
But seriously, I hope next year is better, if the MP4-27 is on it from the start, it can fight for wins and is level in performance with the RB-8 and F2012 then I think Lewis will be back to normal.
Even the best can have their moments. Remember Senna v Prost?
I think Button’s getting to his head in a big way. And Button is a smart cookie. I think he’s just using it to his benefit a lot because it would make Lewis underperform; and his own stock would rise. Button has been defending Lewis a lot lately. I think Lewis sees it as condescending and it’s getting to his head how it seems like he needs defending; and how the one doing the defending is his own teammate.
He’s never been beat by a teammate over the course of a season; ever. I don’t mean just in F1. But ever. And he’s never been behind his teammate in points this far into a season. And I think that kind of made him think he was invincible. He always seems to think that he is the absolute best F1 driver out there, and would demolish all in the same car. I’m not saying he’s wrong, I’m not saying he’s right. But it damn sure is an unhealthy attitude to have. Anyways, I think he’s kind of watching Button being simply ahead of him, even if only by a few points, and is kind of in denial and angry disbelief.
I think you’ve got some good thoughts there, Raymondu999.
To add to the point that he might actually be ok with becoming known for having so many crashes (as it builds an intimidating persona, al la Schumacher early 2000s). I think there is always a point with ultra-talented sportspeople where they begin to look like they’re losing their edge, because their competitors simply figure out what it is that they’re doing and then either copy it or work out how to counter it. So – if everyone has analysed what he does, then either he can’t make passes stick that used to work, or passes that should work end up in smashes because he hasn’t factored in that the other guy will predict what he’s going to do and try to stop him.
If that’s true, then it might well be a good thing for him to continue with the aggressive overtakes, but also figure out some new moves!
Hamilton is not just a world champion, he’s a potential all-time legend, and that’s why these wasted seasons provide such acute frustration for him.
A man capable of humbling a mighty talent like Alonso in his rookie season, and winning the title in only his second year in the most heroic of fashion, delivering some of the finest wet-weather wins in F1 history along the way.
His driving at the moment is not wild, it’s just a little rough at the edges.
He hasn’t been endangering rivals with crazy swerves or zero-percentage moves, he’s just had a couple of races where he’s slightly misjudged where the extremities of his McLaren are, with costly consequences for his points tally.
But if he really was the whirlwind of chaos his critics are claiming, there would be more than 16 points (barely a third place) between him and his apparently flawless and heroic team-mate Button – but there are not.
Hamilton hasn’t lost the plot, hasn’t become a menace and isn’t being blitzed by Button.
I again repeat, Hamilton is not just a world champion, he’s a potential all-time legend, capable of dominating this era with his sparkling talent.
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