All Hail Lewis Hamilton

Dogbreath · 13 Jun 2007 at 09:26

Conanius said:
I thought Hill and Mansell were pretty ok blokes from what I remember ...

Mansell isn't, at least not any more. He's a businessman now with fingers in many pies, but his ego is so inflated I have to wonder where he keeps it.

Simon · 13 Jun 2007 at 09:36

Murf said:
Not for 1 second has he given that impression. I mean, not even a hint of it. Which interview or piece of footage you saw him in gave you that idea?

Agreed, seems pretty down to earth compared to some of the others. Maybe you're assuming he is arrogant because he is winning?

LizardKing · 13 Jun 2007 at 09:43

Dogbreath said:
Mansell isn't, at least not any more. He's a businessman now with fingers in many pies, but his ego is so inflated I have to wonder where he keeps it.

Got to agree, met plenty of people who have worked for him and say he's a money grabbing so and so with argance to match, his kids are going the same way (his daughter went to my college) and i belive his son is trying his hand at motor racing as well
Owns a nice golf course though!

To be a good F1 winner you need to be arrogant, nice guys finish last

Saytan · 13 Jun 2007 at 09:45

anyone fancy a sweepstake on when the press will turn on him?

kaiowas · 13 Jun 2007 at 09:46

LizardKing said:
i belive his son is trying his hand at motor racing as well

Both his sons are currently competing in the British F3 championship

Conanius · 13 Jun 2007 at 09:52

Scratchy said:
I'd love to know what you are basing that on, everything I've seen of him he comes across as a bit cocky sure but how can you not be driving a car around a track at those speeds, apart from that he seems like a genuine guy happy to have got the opportunity to be in F1, but to say his attitude is appauling

Murf said:
Not for 1 second has he given that impression. I mean, not even a hint of it. Which interview or piece of footage you saw him in gave you that idea?

Just my general impression that I get when i've seen him, nothing in particular stands out..... I'd like to think im a pretty good judge of character, but obviously its all down to my personal viewpoint.... last time I checked it was ok to have such a viewpoint

Dogbreath - I hadn't noticed Mr Mansell has gone up himself, shame really

Murf · 13 Jun 2007 at 10:06

Conanius said:
Just my general impression that I get when i've seen him, nothing in particular stands out..... I'd like to think im a pretty good judge of character, but obviously its all down to my personal viewpoint.... last time I checked it was ok to have such a viewpoint

Dogbreath - I hadn't noticed Mr Mansell has gone up himself, shame really

Of course you're entitled to your opinion.

Personally, he just doesn't strike me as that arrogant. If it'd been me when he stuffed the 2 Ferrari's at the 1st bend in Malaysia I'd have been doing a happy dance in the press conference and basked in the fact I'd made them look like mugs. He was very understated about it.

Zip · 13 Jun 2007 at 10:06

What is wrong with you Brits!!

FFS! :mad:

You whinge and bitch because you dont have any Britt winning much at all for years.

Then when this guy comes along and in his first season every single race hes been in hes been on the Podium, he leads the championship and hes just got his first victory?
And are you happy? No!! You still ****ing complain.
FFS Get over your selves and remove your heads from your arses. Stop bloody complaining and be Proud of the fact that you have a guy from your Country doing so well instead of ****ing bashing him all the ****ing time!!

And if you think hes cocky then why dont you go out there and become the leader of the F1 Championship, See if you can just sit back looking glum when you are doing so well.
You are more then likely mistaking his happiness for Cockiness.
Has he come out at all and said hes the best? Said no one will be able to catch him? Not that i know of and i doubt he has.

This is not aimed at those Brits that actually do appreciate him

JRS · 13 Jun 2007 at 10:17

Zip said:
snip

It's a British disease, Zip

We like battlers more than people who have an easy ride, we like people who are gentlemanly to a fault more than people who have 100% self confidence (which can look like arrogance in the wrong light).

That's why we liked Mansell - the gutsy fighter who was robbed of the title a few times right at the death. That's why we liked Damon Hill - a man who fought back from the death of his legendary team mate to take the championship down to the final round, only to get nerfed off by some dastardly German. That's why we liked Graham Hill, and Jim Clark - sure they were sucessful, but they were the definition of gentlemen. That's why we liked Stirling Moss - a man who defended a rival to the stewards, won that and therefore lost the world title to that rival.

Zip said:
See if you can just sit back looking glum when you are doing so well.

Anyone else reckon he just defined Mansell right there?

merlin · 13 Jun 2007 at 10:24

I think being a racing driver is as much about opportunity as it is natural skill.

Given the opportunity, the right motor, the right team, practice, training, cars to smash up etc you could turn Joe Bloggs into a racing driver.

wassap · 13 Jun 2007 at 10:29

Conanius said:
just my take ...

I think he's insanely arrogant, and all things considered, has to accept that, regardless of his obvious natural talent, has still got a lot to learn to become a world champion. No doubt if he doesn't win the world championship he will kick off and cry and moan about his team or team mate.

Sure, that'll look like a jealous point of view, and yeah, of course i'd love to be racing an F1 car, but at the same time, you have to agree that he is a cheeky little oik !!

To be a true winner you have to be a complete and utter ****, look at the likes of schumi, this lads got that special something about him, a ruthlessness.

Merlin,you say you need a good car, but tbh ferrari were an average car before Schumi came along and got them to set the cars up properly and made them the dominating force that they are/were.

Nursie · 13 Jun 2007 at 10:34

Out of interest, who was the last person to be in the best car in their first season in F1 and how did they do.

Fr0dders · 13 Jun 2007 at 10:37

merlin said:
I think being a racing driver is as much about opportunity as it is natural skill.

Given the opportunity, the right motor, the right team, practice, training, cars to smash up etc you could turn Joe Bloggs into a racing driver.

i disagree to a certain extent

i think you could quite rightly argue the difference between the apparently "good" and "bad" racing drivers in F1 is largely due to factors other than their talent

like having the right car, the right team etc..

but i dont think just anybody can be a racing driver. Clarkson prooved this round laguna seca. Hes a fairly average driver, and a motoring enthusiast with a ton of experience in fast cars, but despite driving as fast as he dared in a car that wasnt his, he just couldnt get his lap times near that of the racing driver that they had on the show.

look at the star in the reasonably priced car. Mansell's time was what a 1 minute 46 ? closest anybody got to that was a 1 minute 48. 2 Seconds in a car that slow is a lot. Imagine the difference in a car like an F1 car.

i think once you reach the pinacle of the sport, the only real difference between the drivers on the F1 grid is their car, their team etc..

but you certainly couldnt make Joe Public a winning F1 driver.

Saytan · 13 Jun 2007 at 10:44

Nursie said:
Out of interest, who was the last person to be in the best car in their first season in F1 and how did they do.

coulthard did 8/16 races in 94 for williams - finished 8th on 14 pts.

most recent one i can remember

JRS · 13 Jun 2007 at 10:50

Damon Hill's first full season was in the Williams alongside Prost ('93). That car was pretty much the best.

***edit***

Only people to beat the Williams cars that year were Senna (who could put a wheeled bathtub on pole if he was handed one....) and Schumacher (who was starting to show signs of what was to come from him).

shimy182 · 13 Jun 2007 at 11:13

It's the machine thats so obsolete !!!!!

Look at Sato on his Aguri !!, he came 6th !! with that car which is made by much much much less budget than most other cars!

233 · 13 Jun 2007 at 11:18

everything you read about him he always makes more about his brother than he does himself very understated individual and shows a lot of humility

seems a top bloke for such a young age

Dogbreath · 13 Jun 2007 at 11:22

Whatever peoples opinions on the drivers, talented fresh blood entering the sport can only be a good thing. Sundays race was probably the best F1 I have watched in years.

Fergie · 13 Jun 2007 at 11:23

I have to agree with Zip somewhat.

Also where have a few people in here got the impression that he's arrogant? From all I have seen of him he's been a down to earth nice guy. :confused:

TBH I am getting a bit annoyed with all the media Hamilton humping, but thats not his fault is it!

Yas786 · 13 Jun 2007 at 11:28

Conanius said:
I thought Hill and Mansell were pretty ok blokes from what I remember ...

and yeah, you have to be borderline cocky to have the balls to get the car round the track that fast and consistently .... but I just feel his attitude is appauling, scary that if the papers are even half close he could be earning 50 million a year including sponsorship deals....

Thats why they only ever won one F1 championship in their career

. People like Senna and Schumacher were cocky, arrogant but they came up with the goods and therefore were much more successful than Hill or Mansell ie won more championships than Hill or Mansell could ever hope to win.

Personally i like Hamilton, if hes cocky or arrogant then good for him..its a mark of a successful F1 champ imho. As long as he isnt like that in real life ie away from the race track then its cool as far as im concerned. I really do hope he wins the championship this yr, Alonso i cannot stand..the guys a class A tit tbh.