- 07 Oct 07, 09:19#16760
Hello, i`m a visitor who has been reading these forums for quite some time. I decided that i should perhaps add my own feelings to the 'discussions'
First and foremost, i`m English, which makes me completely biased. I`m also honest, hence why i say that! The British press are fairly awful when it comes to these things, thats because they are not a Niche paper, they are reporting everything for everyman so you get the watered down versions of events. They also have to sell papers, and to do that they have to appear patriotic. I`m sure no other countries in the world have even one tabloid that would ever say anything biased! i`m sure all of the papers in Spain are free from patriotic convictions. . . .
Secondly, Lewis is not a Rookie in an F1 car, he did extensive testing, so when he hit the grid in the first race of the season he was in control. He is however a Rookie to F1 racing, and to try and water it down to say he is no better than anyone out there is to drive with a blindfold and earmuffs.
Every driver on that grid drives at 100%, the margin between 1st place and last place is 1%. The best drivers can achieve that 101% and you have to believe that Ron Dennis saw that ability in Hamilton. McLaren have been an F1 team for longer than i have been alive, so you have to assume that they can spot talent. Is he any better than Button or Kovalainen or Fisichella? Well, if that is a debate now, then it has always been a debate in F1, and will be long after Hamilton has retired. Would Schumacher have won in a Honda? no, he wouldnt have reached the podium. because 101% in a Honda is not enough to beat 101% in a McLaren.
So what in the end can we ask of a driver in the best car in his first year. We could perhaps expect a top four finish and we would be happy with that. (Infact, if he wasnt winning he would probably be more liked, because thats less threatening) We could also be suprised at a few podium finishes, behind his double world champion team-mate. Or unlikely as it sounds, we could perhaps have a guy who in his first season, in the best car on the grid, is on level terms with a world champion who is also in the best car on the grid.
If Schumacher was in a McLaren next to Alonso, and ahead at this point of the championship, there would be no debate about talent or luck. The difference is Lewis hasnt proven himself yet, but if winning this championship is not good enough to prove that he is where he is because he can consistently pull 101% out of the bag, then really nothing will.
There are other drivers who could have done well in a McLaren this year, but if Lewis is nothing special, then you are saying that Alonso is nothing special, and you are saying that Scumacher is nothing special. We can discuss hypothetical situations all day, there difference is he is there and doing it.
And on a side note, you notice i am bashing no drivers, thats because i`m not a fanboi. I like to watch good racing, and i want Lewis to win, but if he doesnt then i will accept defeat as Lewis does. With dignity and humility.
We English like to cheer on our heroes, thats because we don`t get many of them, and i am proud of him. I think he is a young man coping with immense pressure who hasnt cracked. He`s also one of the lowest paid on that grid. Is it his fault that the papers have latched onto him like a fly to s***, no. Look past the papers and see it for what it is. A 22 year old with natural ability who has been given a break and who is running with it, and beating the best that the world has to offer at the moment.
Cheers, and lets all enjoy what we all wanted anyway, an epic Brazil!
First and foremost, i`m English, which makes me completely biased. I`m also honest, hence why i say that! The British press are fairly awful when it comes to these things, thats because they are not a Niche paper, they are reporting everything for everyman so you get the watered down versions of events. They also have to sell papers, and to do that they have to appear patriotic. I`m sure no other countries in the world have even one tabloid that would ever say anything biased! i`m sure all of the papers in Spain are free from patriotic convictions. . . .
Secondly, Lewis is not a Rookie in an F1 car, he did extensive testing, so when he hit the grid in the first race of the season he was in control. He is however a Rookie to F1 racing, and to try and water it down to say he is no better than anyone out there is to drive with a blindfold and earmuffs.
Every driver on that grid drives at 100%, the margin between 1st place and last place is 1%. The best drivers can achieve that 101% and you have to believe that Ron Dennis saw that ability in Hamilton. McLaren have been an F1 team for longer than i have been alive, so you have to assume that they can spot talent. Is he any better than Button or Kovalainen or Fisichella? Well, if that is a debate now, then it has always been a debate in F1, and will be long after Hamilton has retired. Would Schumacher have won in a Honda? no, he wouldnt have reached the podium. because 101% in a Honda is not enough to beat 101% in a McLaren.
So what in the end can we ask of a driver in the best car in his first year. We could perhaps expect a top four finish and we would be happy with that. (Infact, if he wasnt winning he would probably be more liked, because thats less threatening) We could also be suprised at a few podium finishes, behind his double world champion team-mate. Or unlikely as it sounds, we could perhaps have a guy who in his first season, in the best car on the grid, is on level terms with a world champion who is also in the best car on the grid.
If Schumacher was in a McLaren next to Alonso, and ahead at this point of the championship, there would be no debate about talent or luck. The difference is Lewis hasnt proven himself yet, but if winning this championship is not good enough to prove that he is where he is because he can consistently pull 101% out of the bag, then really nothing will.
There are other drivers who could have done well in a McLaren this year, but if Lewis is nothing special, then you are saying that Alonso is nothing special, and you are saying that Scumacher is nothing special. We can discuss hypothetical situations all day, there difference is he is there and doing it.
And on a side note, you notice i am bashing no drivers, thats because i`m not a fanboi. I like to watch good racing, and i want Lewis to win, but if he doesnt then i will accept defeat as Lewis does. With dignity and humility.
We English like to cheer on our heroes, thats because we don`t get many of them, and i am proud of him. I think he is a young man coping with immense pressure who hasnt cracked. He`s also one of the lowest paid on that grid. Is it his fault that the papers have latched onto him like a fly to s***, no. Look past the papers and see it for what it is. A 22 year old with natural ability who has been given a break and who is running with it, and beating the best that the world has to offer at the moment.
Cheers, and lets all enjoy what we all wanted anyway, an epic Brazil!
