Lewis Hamilton

[Sark79]

He is great, but KingPoker does make a good point.  I have watched motorsport since I was about 5 yrs old,  I could name hundreds of racing drivers who never made it to f1 because of lack of funds.  In 1999 there was a great British driver who won the F3 title called Mark Hynes.  Who? .  Exactly.   He never had the money to get into F1 and as a result probably works in Burger King now.   In 1999 Jenson Button finnished in 3rd place in the championship behind Mark Hynes.  Button is now a famous millionaire racing driver and Mark Hynes is a nobody in the world of motorsport.   Motorsport is about talent, but sadly it also comes down to money.  Some young guys have loads of money and some don't.   Ron Dennis did back Hamilton all the way through Formula Renault, F3, GP2.  This adds up to millions of pounds.

[matt674]

His old man was working 3 jobs to try and fund his sons kart racing ...

This maybe why KP considers him spoilt........

I mean 3 different jobs none involving sheep - you'd never get that in his neck of the woods!!

 

[matt674]

In 1999 there was a great British driver who won the F3 title called Mark Hynes.  Who? .  Exactly.   He never had the money to get into F1 and as a result probably works in Burger King now.   In 1999 Jenson Button finnished in 3rd place in the championship behind Mark Hynes.  Button is now a famous millionaire racing driver and Mark Hynes is a nobody in the world of motorsport.   

Hynes works as a driving coach for Renault and some other F3 teams and it has been rumoured that one of his former pupils was none other than Lewis Hamilton.......

[Colchester Kev]

British mentality ... root for the underdog, build him up and cheer him on .... then as soon as he becomes successful, rip him to bits and try and destroy him ... very sad.

[Sark79]

In 1999 there was a great British driver who won the F3 title called Mark Hynes.  Who? .  Exactly.   He never had the money to get into F1 and as a result probably works in Burger King now.   In 1999 Jenson Button finnished in 3rd place in the championship behind Mark Hynes.  Button is now a famous millionaire racing driver and Mark Hynes is a nobody in the world of motorsport.   

Hynes works as a driving coach for Renault and some other F3 teams and it has been rumoured that one of his former pupils was none other than Lewis Hamilton.......

Yep, I know. I was using Burger King as an example of how one guy can achieve his dream and another can fall short purely because of money.   My point is that he would have got to F1 had he been given the opportunity financially.  He also coached many of the other young guys who will be in f1 soon, drivers such as Bruno Senna and Nelson Piquet Junior( Renault test driver ).   Come to think of it,  I believe Hynes is racing at Le Mans. It isn't F1 though   

[matt674]

To be honest i dont believe F1 is a true test of drivers skill anymore - its all about which team you drive for. I too used to watch F1 all the time from the early 80's and whilst there were some teams that were better than others the races used to be closer run things - and each race could have any one of 8 or 10 different drivers winning it.

Now you can only win the F1 championship if you drive for the right team. Best way to see who the best driver is, make each person drive each race in a different car. Each driver drives each car once - the constructors title still to play for would ensure that each team prepares the car to the best of its ability each race and may the best driver win. It'll never happen but it would make it a far more interesting championship.

[Sark79]

The idea of A1 Grand Prix is good .  All cars are identical and it attracts some good drivers from various racing series.   The thing I hate about it is the fact it is a nations cup series.  Who wants to watch a great driver like Nelson Piquet Junior racing against an unknown Chinese driver?  I would love to see 20 top drivers ( F1 drivers / Some IRL drivers ) in the A1 GP cars.  All equal cars and the best driver wins.  I think we may see a few different drivers right at the front,  Anthony Davidson would be a winner for sure.

[Geo the Sarge]

His old man was working 3 jobs to try and fund his sons kart racing ...

Until he was ten Lewis lived with his mother; after that he lived with his father, step-mother and half-brother[6] Nicholas who suffers from cerebral palsy. At six, he began his racing career when Anthony bought Lewis his first go-kart. He held down three jobs to support Lewis' career and still found enough time to attend all of Lewis' races.[6] When he was nine, Lewis approached Ron Dennis and told him, "I'm going to race for you one day...I'm going to race for McLaren", and at the age of eleven he was signed to McLaren's development programme,[6] whilst still attending The John Henry Newman School. In early 2007, Hamilton moved from Tewin Wood in Hertfordshire to Woking in Surrey to be closer to the McLaren factory.

He is great, but KingPoker does make a good point.  I have watched motorsport since I was about 5 yrs old,  I could name hundreds of racing drivers who never made it to f1 because of lack of funds.  In 1999 there was a great British driver who won the F3 title called Mark Hynes.  Who? .  Exactly.   He never had the money to get into F1 and as a result probably works in Burger King now.   In 1999 Jenson Button finnished in 3rd place in the championship behind Mark Hynes.  Button is now a famous millionaire racing driver and Mark Hynes is a nobody in the world of motorsport.   Motorsport is about talent, but sadly it also comes down to money.  Some young guys have loads of money and some don't.   Ron Dennis did back Hamilton all the way through Formula Renault, F3, GP2.  This adds up to millions of pounds.

Think Kev's post sums up the difference here.

It wasn't the fact that Hamilton had the funding at the beginning, however obviously had the ambititon. The fact that his father worked as hard as he did to get the young man into a position where he can tell Ron Dennis that he is going to drive for him one day speaks volumes.

You can have all the money in the world but if you ain't got the ambition, motivation or the skill you aren't going to make it.

Full marks to the Hamilton family IMHO.

Geo

[Tonji]

I've meet Lewis Hamilton a few times (my brother works in F1), & known about him for 10 years or so, he really is a down to earth young guy, but with a real talent that is focused on winning. In that respect he is ruthless, but that is what has got him to where he is today & probably to the F1 World Championship.
Ron Dennis is probably the second most ruthless man in F1 after Bernie E, & he knows a World Champ when he sees one, not to mention the increased marketing possibilities Lewis can bring to Mclaren.

[tantrum]

Ah Lewis Hamilton ---- yummy ----

he rocks, and I do hope he will win whatever is there to win. Good luck to him. 

[boldie]

British mentality ... root for the underdog, build him up and cheer him on .... then as soon as he becomes successful, rip him to bits and try and destroy him ... very sad.

good post

[Jim-D]

And the guy takes pole again in the USA,  Make it 2 in a row now kid.

[boldie]

And the guy takes pole again in the USA,  Make it 2 in a row now kid.

superb stuff! I haven;'t been watching a lot of F1 lately..ussually if I catch the start I'll watch it but can't really be bothered too much with it. This guy has gotten me properly excited about it again, I love seeing new talent burst on the scene and do well..the thought that "we could be witnessing the start of something very special here" makes it worth watching.

[Tonji]

And the guy takes pole again in the USA,  Make it 2 in a row now kid.

superb stuff! I haven;'t been watching a lot of F1 lately..ussually if I catch the start I'll watch it but can't really be bothered too much with it. This guy has gotten me properly excited about it again, I love seeing new talent burst on the scene and do well..the thought that "we could be witnessing the start of something very special here" makes it worth watching.

I agree, there seems to be an added spark this year in the arrival of Hamilton. It just needs Ferrari to get their act together quickly to give Mclaren some competion, & then this season could be a classic.

[Jim-D]

Another superb drive from this new super star,

Really enjoyed the race aswell, Competetive all over the track