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[racechick]

Yes geetface9, behave yourself!!

Coming back to lewis, he made a joke. He's never played the race card, if he was going to do that he'd have done it when he had the racial abuse against him in Spain, but he didnt. It was just a joke, politically inncorrect? Maybe; but havent things gone a little crazy in that regard over the last decade or so. If Lewis is to be criticised then maybe he doesnt stop to think how his comments may be taken or twisted by over sensitive audiences or audiences with a vested interest in giving him bad press. But then we come back to the PR robots afraid to speak their mind. Personally id rather have the honest reply. If you dont like it dont listen or read his comments.

[Hammer278]

He shouldn't care what others think of him but the way he acts in post race interviews is unacceptable sometimes with the name calling and the because I'm black thing was outrageous; this is what gets him in hot water 90% of the time, if he conducted himself better in post race interviews, maybe he wouldn't have so many detractors.

Absolutely. The bollocks that Niki Lauda spews is a load of , but Lewis does himself no favours in interviews. He should take a leaf out of Jenson Button's book with regards to interviews... he knows how to handle the media properly and professionally.

But he's right in not caring about what some shrivelled-up old fart says about him. The best he can do is ignore it, keep his chin up, and work on getting a decent result....

Nobody cares what Jenson is doing, all they know is he cruises and collects....you couldn't make controversy if you tried. Jenson's boring personality is only matched by his driving, he doesn't have to handle anything in media.

[bud]

I thought his ali g remarks were hilarious! He was only kidding, I think a lot of people took that more seriously than anybody should. I really don't think that he believes his race has anything to do with the stewards. Nobody looking at him in full race gear would know he's black anyway, they just see the yellow on his helmet so one might guess he's...nevermind I'll get a warning for that, i think!

Yellow belly is what you were going to say right?

[Ineluke]

He shouldn't care what others think of him but the way he acts in post race interviews is unacceptable sometimes with the name calling and the because I'm black thing was outrageous; this is what gets him in hot water 90% of the time, if he conducted himself better in post race interviews, maybe he wouldn't have so many detractors.

Who cares, he doesn't and good on him.

People like yourself disliked him from the first time you laid eyes on him,let's not pretend that that is not the case. What ever Lewis does you will dislike him,perhaps in your eyes he should be playing basket ball or running the 100 metres alongside bolt not sitting in a F1 car.

Perhaps you dislike him because he makes your favourite Jenson Button look like the middle of the road driver he is. Yeah, yeah i know Jenson is leading him in the WDC but you know deep down that that's going to change,hell it might change after this weekend.

Many drivers over the years have acted like Lewis ,some even attacking other drivers or threatening them,i guess you really had no problem with that though.

As for Lewis last races and the shunts,two of them were not his fault so you could say that Paul di Resta has had more hits in the last 4 races than Lewis. The British papers have been full of comments about Lewis leading up to the weekend trying to unsettle him but he does not read the papers and no one around him shows them to him.

Bye..

[myownalias]

He shouldn't care what others think of him but the way he acts in post race interviews is unacceptable sometimes with the name calling and the because I'm black thing was outrageous; this is what gets him in hot water 90% of the time, if he conducted himself better in post race interviews, maybe he wouldn't have so many detractors.

Who cares, he doesn't and good on him.

People like yourself disliked him from the first time you laid eyes on him,let's not pretend that that is not the case. What ever Lewis does you will dislike him,perhaps in your eyes he should be playing basket ball or running the 100 metres alongside bolt not sitting in a F1 car.

Wow, you make a lot of assumptions and none of them are correct! Are you suggesting that I am racist? if so you couldn't be more wrong; I'm in an interracial marriage. I actually supported Lewis Hamilton for his first two seasons; I started to dislike him about 2/3rds way through the 2009 season with his attitude that he has some sort of God given right to be in the best car on the grid.

Perhaps you dislike him because he makes your favourite Jenson Button look like the middle of the road driver he is. Yeah, yeah i know Jenson is leading him in the WDC but you know deep down that that's going to change,hell it might change after this weekend.

No, I dislike him because of the way he constantly runs his month instead of taking it on the chin and looking forward to the next race, we'll see what happens in the race; there is every chance that Lewis might overtake Jenson in the drivers title race but there's still plenty of time remaining in the season for it to go either way.

Many drivers over the years have acted like Lewis ,some even attacking other drivers or threatening them,i guess you really had no problem with that though.

Actually if a driver acts like an a$$ in front of the cameras then I will call him an a$$, Lewis isn't a special case!

As for Lewis last races and the shunts,two of them were not his fault so you could say that Paul di Resta has had more hits in the last 4 races than Lewis. The British papers have been full of comments about Lewis leading up to the weekend trying to unsettle him but he does not read the papers and no one around him shows them to him.

Did I mention Lewis' ontrack antics? I'm talking purely about his behaviour when standing in front of a TV camera!

Bye..

Bye Bye, don't let the door hit you on the way out!

[f1boy]

Good for you Lewis. Don't let them grind you down.

[Mohtanos]

As schumi fan and Ferrari fan i appriciate the way Lewis drive, with balls as hard as steel.
But he needs to focus on his own and not on the media or other drivers, he drives for the second best team in the world right now and he should focus on feedback to the engi's to improve his drive style and that of the team.

He is getting alot of negatives the last weeks, and that is something you dont want as a F1 driver.
Hope it turns out well for him and he get back on track after some minor mistakes
GL from the Netherlands at least

[Blinky McSquinty]

Isn't it amazing how different people are. This morning I woke up to a beautiful day. When I went out to go to work, I chanced across a neighbour, and commented on what a wonderful day it was. His reply was "But it's going to rain tomorrow". It's funny how two people can come out of the same experience with two completely opposite viewpoints.

I'd like to slide this across the table and attempt to apply it towards the dynamics of being a fan of Hamilton. We're all watching the same TV program, we all watch an incident, yet there are some who come to the conclusion that one driver screwed up, while the other was a victim of circumstance. Others think the opposite, that's how the world works. Is one side evil and stupid, and the other immaculate and perfect in their wisdom? Unfortunately some hold that position. But the truth is that the real truth almost always lies between the two extremes.

Now we get to Mr Hamilton and the polarity between fans with differing viewpoints. One thing that does have to be taken into consideration is the influence of English taboid style of journalism. Trust me, all the tabloids want is increased revenue, and more often than not, throwing fuel into the fire is a good thing for them. But not fans attempting to bridge the gap between the two completely polarized camps. They are faced with hordes of well-meaning fans who hold the concept that you either love, or hate a specific individual. It's all or nothing, with no compromise or middle ground.

Hamilton is human, and at times, just like you and me, not perfect. We all make mistakes, that's part of being human. Obviously Hamilton does read the papers and listen to what's being said about him, his recent comments concerning Lauda, Villeneuve, Mansell, et al indicates he is plugged into the media. And he's fundamentally a nice guy, and attempting to do his best in a difficult situation. I can't even begin to comprehend the type of fishbowl he lives in, where everyone is watching every move, every blink, everything he does. The stress and pressure has to be incredible.


I don't see Hamilton's recent statement s as either admissions of guilt or someone standing defiantly against unfair criticism. To me, it's more like .. "it seemed like a good idea at the time". And I'm sure most of us have been in that situation, where some path of action appeared to be valid, to discover later that it wasn't such a good idea. Ever jump into a stream to discover it was fed by a glacier, and that the water was colder than humanly possible? It seemed like a good idea at the time.

In the world of racing, sometimes decisions have to be made in the blink of an eye, literally. if you are following a car with intent on passing, the sudden opening of opportunity may last half a second, and the driver has to assess the situation, weight the virtues of risk versus reward, make a decision, and go for it. If you're right, all well and good. If something goes wrong, well, it has to be approached realistically by all.

So when Hamilton states "Sometimes, maybe, I don't have the best judgment and sometimes maybe I'm in the wrong place at the wrong time." he's not saying he's an bottom, or a genius. It's just that at times, in hindsight .......

It seemed like a good idea at the time.

[What's Burning?]

People do come to difference conclusions. That's not the issue as far as I see it, there is nothing wrong with a difference of opinion, nothing wrong with a different point of view. We're wired differently because we've evolved to do so as a form of species preservation, diversification of "traits" that may favor one way of thinking over another in a given situation. So coming to different conclusions is natural.

What's not necessary is the transition of those different opinions into arguments where we then start to call the other side stupid or racist or biased for not seeing it our way.

I was comparing Mark Cavendish to Lewis Hamilton yesterday... and wondered why it is that I like both of them. They're both painted in the media in a similar fashion, and both have similar sound bites and yet they're both very good at what they do in the sport. Maybe I'm wired to like that, in the end it's a difference of where we place the line between arrogance and confidence.

[f1boy]

Nothing wrong with a bit of arrogance if you're the best driver.

[FRAFPDD]

The Hamilton haters will always be the reason for the arguing, always.

They will find fault with everything and anything Hamilton does on/off/in/out track/home/media. Anything, and they will somehow find fault with it.

And then when you "dare" disagree by saying actually i quite liked Hamiltons candidness in an interview, or i really think that was a 50/50 incident, the gaggle of dissenters laugh and snigger to themselves at how "Majorly bias" and " brainwashes" the Hamilton fans are, like some sort of pretentious know-it-alls, they feel "pity" for us

[Selcouth_Feline]

But then we come back to the PR robots afraid to speak their mind. Personally id rather have the honest reply.

Quite. I'm not a Lewis fan at all but, like you, I prefer to see his honest answers than some dull PR spin.

[Blinky McSquinty]

The Hamilton haters will always be the reason for the arguing, always.

They will find fault with everything and anything Hamilton does on/off/in/out track/home/media. Anything, and they will somehow find fault with it.

And then when you "dare" disagree by saying actually i quite liked Hamiltons candidness in an interview, or i really think that was a 50/50 incident, the gaggle of dissenters laugh and snigger to themselves at how "Majorly bias" and " brainwashes" the Hamilton fans are, like some sort of pretentious know-it-alls, they feel "pity" for us

So much pain, so much cynicism. It's a shame because you deserve better.

Do you consider me a "hater"? Admittedly, I have not made an emotional investment in Hamilton, and at times I do offer up criticism. But funny thing, maybe we have more in common than anyone would consider. Once upon a time, my favorite driver was Gilles Villeneuve. And just like Lewis, he was blindingly quick, exciting, and someone that could easily be admired. And at that time, when Gilles did screw up, I was outraged that criticism followed. But the truth is, he did screw up occasionally, and sometimes in a magnificent manner. Did you hear that, me, a Gilles fan taking it on the chin and admitting when he did screw up? And why would I do such a treacherous and treasonable act to my hero? Because there are much worse things.

You think it's bad when some clod makes ugly sounds against Lewis? That is nothing, it pales into insignificance of zero when you wake up, and read the headlines on the papers that state that he just got killed. Trust me, if you get a bad feeling when you read comments directed against Lewis, I hope and pray that you never have to go through the kind of crap I had to endure.

It's a reality check, when all of a sudden your world has changed forever, and what seemed important and worthy of righteous indignation really is doody squat compared to the harsh realities of life.

But sadly, there are uninformed people camped out on both sides of the fence. There are people who know absolutely nothing about racing yet throw in their opinion and criticism of Lewis for maybe the only reason is that they can (thanks to the net). And there are others who appear to have minimal comprehension of racing, yet make all kinds of weird and luducrous statements that only undermine and dilute the informed opinions of fans of Lewis.

These are the two extremes, and in my opinion, should be ignored by all. Somewhere in the middle, between the extremes is the truth, the reality, and the ability to exchange opinions without having to go to war each time.

[What's Burning?]

But sadly, there are uninformed people camped out on both sides of the fence. There are people who know absolutely nothing about racing yet throw in their opinion and criticism of Lewis for maybe the only reason is that they can (thanks to the net). And there are others who appear to have minimal comprehension of racing, yet make all kinds of weird and luducrous statements that only undermine and dilute the informed opinions of fans of Lewis.

I'm confused, which side of the fence is which?

[vaptin]

But sadly, there are uninformed people camped out on both sides of the fence. There are people who know absolutely nothing about racing yet throw in their opinion and criticism of Lewis for maybe the only reason is that they can (thanks to the net). And there are others who appear to have minimal comprehension of racing, yet make all kinds of weird and luducrous statements that only undermine and dilute the informed opinions of fans of Lewis.

I'm confused, which side of the fence is which?

On the far side of the fence are the fanboys, on the other side of the fence (also on the far side) are the haters. The fence is ambivalence about Hamilton I guess,and just caring about racing to the extent whoes in the driving seat doesn't matter to you. Yeah, thats it, the further away from the fence, the less you care about the actual racing the more about personality.

Oh , I missed the joke.