What's eating at Lewis Hamilton?

[zippy_the_cat]

Jackie Stewart weighs in:


"He has all the skills but somehow or other, he jumps out of gear mentally - like in Singapore] qualifying, leaving the pits. I cannot believe he nearly had an incident that would have taken him out of qualifying.

"The race incident was again uncalled for, so I think he needs to think about his mind-management. He has the skills, and he has the abilities, but unfortunately he is having too many incidents."

 

[LMSCorvetteGT2]

Jackie Stewart weighs in:


"He has all the skills but somehow or other, he jumps out of gear mentally - like in Singapore] qualifying, leaving the pits. I cannot believe he nearly had an incident that would have taken him out of qualifying.

"The race incident was again uncalled for, so I think he needs to think about his mind-management. He has the skills, and he has the abilities, but unfortunately he is having too many incidents."

This from the same guy that says he'll be out by 2013? I mean I think Ardius has it right. There have been many mistakes made by drivers this year, some that have been in F1 longer than Hamilton even. Yet he is talked about due to how the Media blows up Hamilton which is quite annoying.

 

[zippy_the_cat]

This from the same guy that says he'll be out by 2013?

I just wonder about it because, if he falls out with McLaren, where's he going to go?

 

[RTSolvalou]

With Hams, I think if he has another year like this, McLaren will either drop him (in which case he's guaranteed finished) or more likely, give him a year off, and then 2014 will be all or nothing.

 

[LMSCorvetteGT2]

I just wonder about it because, if he falls out with McLaren, where's he going to go?

Let's see how 2012 goes before we start trying to predict the future. McLaren-Merc wont let Hamilton go that easy even when 2013 roles around. It'd be one thing if he didn't win at all this year, but he did and he also got several podiums and is still very much in the run to beat Jenson. I think too many are trying to guess the future. Even if he doesn't beat Jenson his year isn't as bad as people seem to make it, media just seems to be a big influence on viewers of F1.

 

[Northstar]

I just wonder about it because, if he falls out with McLaren, where's he going to go?

Probably anywhere other than McLaren. If he moves teams it won't be until '13. By than Schumacher, Barrichello or Webber could retire, Kubica could decide he's not well enough to return, Ferrari could boot Massa, Force India could decide the Sutil experiment is over and a whole list of other possibilities.

If he were released at the end of this year his '12 season could indeed be in jeopardy as most teams midfield through the front have their driver line up set. But a lot of questions will arise during '12 and could make for an interesting market a year from now.

 

[LMSCorvetteGT2]

Probably anywhere other than McLaren. If he moves teams it won't be until '13. By than Schumacher, Barrichello or Webber could retire, Kubica could decide he's not well enough to return, Ferrari could boot Massa, Force India could decide the Sutil experiment is over and a whole list of other possibilities.

If he were released at the end of this year his '12 season could indeed be in jeopardy as most teams midfield through the front have their driver line up set. But a lot of questions will arise during '12 and could make for an interesting market a year from now.

From the looks of it McLaren are fine with Lewis at the moment and obviously with Jenson

 

[prisonermonkeys]

From the looks of it McLaren are fine with Lewis at the moment and obviously with Jenson

But is Lewis fine with McLaren? He's (allegedly) said that he "won't wait forever" for them.

Probably anywhere other than McLaren.

If - and I stress the if - he were to leave McLaren at the end of the year, Force India is probably where he'd land. Red Bull, Ferrari and Mercedes are locked out and Renault already have four drivers trying to get into two seats. Force India is the furthest team up the grid with a potential vacancy (ie Sutil potentially going to Williams, or Force India doing a straight swap with McLaren by trading Hamilton for di Resta). Looking further down the grid, Sauber are locked out and nobody else would be competitive enough for Hamilton. Unless Frank Williams somehow convinced him to sign on and become the man who restores the team to their former glory, but I don't think Hamilton would have the patience for that.

 

[LMSCorvetteGT2]

But is Lewis fine with McLaren? He's (allegedly) said that he "won't wait forever" for them.

You act like this is the first time he's said it...OH BOY we should watch out. It's like when Jenson and Lewis were saying the McLaren doesn't have a chance to win this year or it was going to be awful...didn't take to long for it to win a race. I try not to listen too heavily to what comes out of the McLaren garage after Sundays. If Lewis wasn't happy then why is he even racing there this year? Third season now in the third best car, well second best this year. I think he does this cause it will really make them build a great car...too bad that's not reality.

 

[prisonermonkeys]

Sooner or later, he'll make good on his threat. He's said he won't wait forever more often than he has said he'll see his career out with them. A driver must always go where he feels the greatest chances of success lie. So long as he feels that way about McLaren, he will stay there. But as soon as that changes, he'll start sniffing around to see what else is on offter.

 

[corporatesteve]

I dont know if you guys have already discussed the interview between the 2 drivers after the race...

heres the video

http://www.gpupdate.net/en/videos/1444/massa-confronts-hamilton-during-interviews-marina-bay-2011/

Massa comes up to say "good job" to Lewis, Lewis turns around and says " dont touch me ever again "


I would of told lewis he drives like a girl right in front of the cameras.

 

[homeforsummer]

Most of what's actually happening has already been said, but here's my take.

Overdriving: Lots of it. On outright pace he's probably as quick as Vettel and Alonso - those three are the quickest drivers in the field, and I'm saying that as a Button fan. However, like Alonso, the McLaren simply isn't as quick as the Red Bull. RB has an incredibly strong team at the moment, with two consistent drivers one of whom is incredibly fast and the other merely very quick, probably the best head of design to ever work in F1 and a team atmosphere that's a little more relaxed than that at McLaren.

Throw in all that and even if you're as quick as Hamilton is, you have to push harder than you'd like. The trouble is, Ham doesn't have either the patience or consistency of Button to get the best from the car, so he overdrives it. And crashes. And crashes again. There must be some pace somewhere otherwise Button wouldn't be where he is, but you don't just need pace to win a race (unless you're Vettel and start from pole position all the time!).

Management problems: Anthony Hamilton has said recently that he reckons Ham's management company isn't giving him enough support. You can take that with a pinch of salt I guess but Hamilton never seemed to be doing too badly with his dad as a manager (it helped him all the way from karting to F1 after all), so maybe a more supportive role would help Hamilton get his head together.

The crashes: This is obviously related to overdriving but there's a mix here. Someone mentioned earlier that Hamilton has no respect for anyone else on the track. I'd agree to an extent, but I'd add in Button as an exception to the rule. Apart from the heavy-spray-influenced coming-together at Canada, Hamilton has had some incredibly close but incredibly clean battles with Button over the past few years, so he can obviously do it when he puts his mind to it. Remember the race at Turkey last year where Vettel drove like a moron and took off Webber? Ham and Button had some fantastic, close, clean racing there, and it's happened on several other occasions too.

He just needs to learn that respect is due to everyone, not just his team mate. It's not just respect either, it's using common sense. The crash with Kobayashi at Spa could have been so easily avoided if he'd just been using his noggin a bit more.

 

[Nismo34]

I dont know if you guys have already discussed the interview between the 2 drivers after the race...

heres the video

http://www.gpupdate.net/en/videos/1444/massa-confronts-hamilton-during-interviews-marina-bay-2011/

Massa comes up to say "good job" to Lewis, Lewis turns around and says " dont touch me ever again "


I would of told lewis he drives like a girl right in front of the cameras.

Watching that, Lewis seems to be in a state of thought or he realised what he had done in the race and felt quite bad. He didnt seem angry as such, more dissappointed in himself. When Massa Taps him on the shoulder, he didnt seem to be the non-thinking rash Lewis that we saw on track as he hesitated to turn around and hesitated even more to say something. I actually genuinly belive Lewis was sorry for what had happened. Maybe thats just the way I'm interpreting that video though...

Edit: Just to make it easier for people, Ive embedded the Video Below

 

[Hugo Boss]

Most of what's actually happening has already been said, but here's my take.

Overdriving: Lots of it. On outright pace he's probably as quick as Vettel and Alonso - those three are the quickest drivers in the field, and I'm saying that as a Button fan. However, like Alonso, the McLaren simply isn't as quick as the Red Bull. RB has an incredibly strong team at the moment, with two consistent drivers one of whom is incredibly fast and the other merely very quick, probably the best head of design to ever work in F1 and a team atmosphere that's a little more relaxed than that at McLaren.

Throw in all that and even if you're as quick as Hamilton is, you have to push harder than you'd like. The trouble is, Ham doesn't have either the patience or consistency of Button to get the best from the car, so he overdrives it. And crashes. And crashes again. There must be some pace somewhere otherwise Button wouldn't be where he is, but you don't just need pace to win a race (unless you're Vettel and start from pole position all the time!).

That's a clear elucidation, hfs. Also the bold part I think is the key. In outright pace, I think he's up there with the best, maybe even on top. However, I've seen too many moments of lack of concentration, wrong decisions, poor racecraft, immaturity, that makes me believe he's simply not that top driver some people think he is. You could put it down to his relative young age (Alonso and Button have become more complete drivers as well during the years), but then Vettel shows how good you can be at such a young age.

I bet almost every driver would love to be able to replicate what Vettel displays this year. He may be driving the quickest car, he also makes less mistakes and better tactical choices than the rest of the field (going for the short gear ratio at Monza was brilliant). His qualifying skills and pace at the first laps of a GP are the most impressive I have ever seen. Even when he does make a mistake, it's just a minor one with no serious consequences. Where Alonso and Button seem to have accepted Vettels dominance and try to get the best result out of the car and themselves, I get the impression Hamilton and also Webber don't. To make things worse for Hamilton, he lost his dominance in qualifying over Button and can't even stay close to him over a complete race distance. I'd imagine this would be a huge mental load, one that Hamilton can't cope with. He might still think he's the best, but he gets hardly any confirmation this season. He drove brilliantly in Germany, but the victory in China was a gift from RB with their poor tyre strategy.

I think the only thing that would help Hamilton right now, is a race where the McLaren is the dominant car. Don't think that would happen before 2012...

 

[homeforsummer]

You could put it down to his relative young age (Alonso and Button have become more complete drivers as well during the years), but then Vettel shows how good you can be at such a young age.

Vettel has definitely shown more maturity this year than last year which has helped him massively (and really expanded the difference between himself and Hamilton), but he's not infallible, at least in mixed conditions. His half spins in both Canada and Hungary are evidence of what happens when he doesn't clear off into the distance.

Give it a few more years and unless Red Bull makes an enormous cock-up of something Vettel will then have the outright speed and the experience, at which point we might be looking at another Schumacher-esque scenario of endless back-to-back championships.

That said, if Hamilton sorts himself out and Ferrari gives Alonso a better car next year, both might be in more of a position to challenge. I think Hamilton has just let several factors get to him too much this year. It's quite disappointing as when he's on-form (and when he keeps his mouth shut) he's an amazing driver with easily the pace to match Vettel.

 

[Radracing]

Lack of maturity or patience and desperation are the biggest factors with LH. Let's face it with a car that is inferior to the competition and falling back on the grid with penalties and all he has had to fight through the field and that raises the chances of an incident for every car he passes.

It's his driving style he is an aggressive passer and risk taker. So his desperation and impatience or lack of maturity gets him into stupid mistakes. But no doubt he is still one of the top drivers with all the challenges he is facing, but still looking foolish in front of the F1 racing fans. I doubt any one of us could do better except to claim that we are better critics than anyone else.

Plus we all know and some hate the fact that Vettle is the fastest guy in the fastest car in F1 right now and the other drivers admit to it. Which makes for a boring drivers championship. So Hamilton is the main topic of the show right now. too make things interesting for us to speak about at the least.

 

[Alex.]

It's an easy answer. Button is trashing him, and he's doing everything he can to stop that happening.

 

[LMSCorvetteGT2]

It's an easy answer. Button is trashing him, and he's doing everything he can to stop that happening.

Just saying since people believe what Lewis says and the McLaren garage on a larger scope...why would he come out on his own accord and say that even if he does better and gets second in points, Button played the game better. So he hates Button, but still has the clarity of mind to come out and say bravo in a serious respectable way? I dont think Lewis is worried about Button, as much as being just crushed outright by Vettel because the car wasn't on par.

 

[zippy_the_cat]

Just saying since people believe what Lewis says and the McLaren garage on a larger scope...why would he come out on his own accord and say that even if he does better and gets second in points, Button played the game better.

See http://en.espnf1.com/mclaren/motorsport/story/60065.html

 

[YellowG1]

All this idle speculation about Hamilton reminds of Rupyard Kipling's Just So stories. It's like everyone telling their story of how the leopard got his spots or how the camel got his hump.

 

[prisonermonkeys]

Hamilton says team-mate Button has been better during 2011 F1 season

Lewis Hamilton believes McLaren team-mate Jenson Button has done a better job than him during this year's world championship.

Hamilton has endured a season full of ups and downs, having won two races but also having been involved in several accidents that have ruled him out of the championship fight.

Button, in his second season with McLaren, has also won two races but is 17 points ahead and remains the only other driver than Sebastian Vettel with a mathematical chance of winning the title.

Hamilton praised Button's job this season as "incredible", and conceded he has done a better job this year.

"I think for me now it's just to find my ground and improve on the results that we've had in the last four races," Hamilton was quoted as saying by Reuters in Bangalore on Tuesday.

"Jenson's done an incredible job...I feel he's done a better job all season, really. So even if I did a better job in the next five races it doesn't mean a lot to me. I mean, it's through a whole year," added the Briton.

The McLaren driver also said he has already moved on from his on- and off-track clashes with Ferrari's Felipe Massa at the Singapore Grand Prix last weekend.

"I was able to just ignore it and move on," he said.

This, I think, summarises Hamilton's problems nicely:

The McLaren driver also said he has already moved on from his on- and off-track clashes with Ferrari's Felipe Massa at the Singapore Grand Prix last weekend.

"I was able to just ignore it and move on," he said.

He shouldn't be ignoring it. It's clearly a problem, and it's something he needs to address. He needs to acknowledge the issue and start doing something about it. Ignoring it is only going to lead to it happening again.

 

[ZEROX]

He shouldn't be ignoring it. It's clearly a problem, and it's something he needs to address. He needs to acknowledge the issue and start doing something about it. Ignoring it is only going to lead to it happening again.

Indeed he should just say sorry to Massa at the very least. Arrogant i must say.

On my thought, Lewis just needs to be patience and chill a little bit.
I bet someone tap 'overtaking option' constantly and his stress meter is full hot.

A couple of mistake can be forgiven but this is too much for a talented F1 driver like him. There're no doubt he can challenge Vettel but with this kind of driving, he will trash his car before he could score his 2nd championship. It's not that i hate his kamikaze driving style but he's overconfident about it sometimes. I have to say that he already destroy a couple of driver's races. Let's just hope that kid change to a better one but on the mean time, just don't blew up the race again. Let's see in Suzuka.

He still have those skill, just look at Singapore 17th to 5th and some other race that i forgot. 👍

 

[LMSCorvetteGT2]

All this idle speculation about Hamilton reminds of Rupyard Kipling's Just So stories. It's like everyone telling their story of how the leopard got his spots or how the camel got his hump.

You're right actually, either way it goes that article is going to be put into a context to fit the agenda of anyone. Only Hamilton knows why and what the reason he's driving. Too me and you it's simple...this is just the way Hamilton drives and has done so since the start. This year luck may not be on his side. I just love how people keep asking this question, and give their advice as if their 10 hours online course in psychology is going to be the key to a 2012 WDC. Same way people that watched f1 last year had their advice for Vettel, which he didn't need obviously.

 

[Hugo Boss]

Vettel has definitely shown more maturity this year than last year which has helped him massively (and really expanded the difference between himself and Hamilton), but he's not infallible, at least in mixed conditions. His half spins in both Canada and Hungary are evidence of what happens when he doesn't clear off into the distance.

Even an alien would have been highly surprised when he managed to keep a car behind that’s over a second a lap faster without DRS in those (semi-)wet conditions. The fact that Vettel didn’t give up his position easily and only had to after two minor mistakes in one the most difficult race situations a driver can be in, is already respectful and impressive in my book.

A better example that shows he’s not infallible is the German GP. The only race he truly underperformed. But after 14 races, I bet every driver on the grid would sign for that record.

Now back to Hamilton...

He shouldn't be ignoring it. It's clearly a problem, and it's something he needs to address. He needs to acknowledge the issue and start doing something about it. Ignoring it is only going to lead to it happening again.

On the other hand acknowledging the issue and making excuses will make him a stronger person, but not a better driver. Hamiltons strength is his aggressiveness. Monza is a nice example of what happens when Hamilton drives carefully.

I'd rather see that McLaren/Whitmarsh disapproves his behaviour on track. They now try to protect him every time. It's not that relevant that it annoys me to death that they've seen a different race every time, but I would think that some criticism from the team would make Hamilton more focused. In my experience 'I'm really going to prove myself now' is a better mindset than 'I desperately need to perform'.

He still have those skill, just look at Singapore 17th to 5th and some other race that i forgot. 👍

I don't think that would give Hamilton any confidence. He's driving a car that's lightyears faster than every other car than the Red Bull, he got massive help from the safety car and he was lucky to have some super softs left for the last stint (contrary to Massa). Anything lower than 4th is not a good result for him and Hamilton himself might even feel lower than 2nd is not good enough

 

[prisonermonkeys]

On the other hand acknowledging the issue and making excuses will make him a stronger person, but not a better driver. Hamiltons strength is his aggressiveness. Monza is a nice example of what happens when Hamilton drives carefully.

I'm not saying he should be timid. I'm saying he should take a step back and ask himself "Okay, why do I keep getting involved in these incidents?" and go from there. He can be aggressive and intelligent in his driving at the same time.

 

[Hun200kmh]

I don't think that would give Hamilton any confidence. He's driving a car that's lightyears faster than every other car than the Red Bull, he got massive help from the safety car and he was lucky to have some super softs left for the last stint (contrary to Massa). Anything lower than 4th is not a good result for him and Hamilton himself might even feel lower than 2nd is not good enough

Totally agree. These guys must think they are the best, maybe they can admit some (very few) peers, but in the end top drivers must think that anything lower than a win for them must be due to the car / to others' faults / to pure bad luck.

In Hamilton's case I would say that he wouldn't have a particular problem finishing third if the two first cars are RBR. But finishing fifth means:

- another driver in equal car finished ahead. That's bad

- another driver in worse car finished ahead. That's even worse.

So yeah ... 5th is bad for Hamilton.

But you know, where I really think there's something wrong with him is in the simple fact that as far as I know he didn't apologize to Massa. Not even assume any blame for it. A simple "yeah, I miscalculated the position of the cars and turned in a bit early, we both suffered a lot from it and I'm sorry for it. We take risks in racing and sometimes 🤬 happens" ... would suffice.

 

[Pupik]

This is going to sound crazy, especially since I'm saying this of a former world champion, but I think there's a lack of maturity; by which I mean he's been used to success with a front-running car. Save the 2009 McLaren, he hasn't really marked any serious time in any uncompetitive machinery in which to battle with other drivers, except for the lead. Granted, that's a talent/flaw many drivers wish they had, even in small quantities!

He's also over-driving the car, losing focus, because the championship is far out of his hands and he's finally faced a serious teammate in which he thought he was faster than. Yes, Alonso was a serious teammate in 2007, but Lewis didn't have nearly as much to prove...he was their de facto Number Two driver. The pressure and onus shifted to Fernando. Jenson Button has matured, and has become very skilled in balancing the many variables in car control, strategy, and the "expendables" (tires, fuel, brakes). I imagined that having Button on Hamilton's team was a reward for a job well done at Brawn, but the car did all the work, thus he'd be a great "Number 1A" driver for Hamilton to gain some setup knowledge from. After all, Jenson was in his Indian Summer phase, and would fade out of F1 shortly. The first half of the 2010 season went Jenson's way, but then Hamilton's...but Button's been more consistent in 2011 (when the car/team didn't fail him), made more of every advantage, and basically made more form less, if you will.

I think Hamilton feels he has little to lose with the remaining races this season, but Formula One's become a sport in which car reliability has reached all-time highs, so every mistake is magnified and every retirement viewed with a telescope, especially in light of a points-paying structure which rewards the greater solidity of modern machinery. In retrospect, so as long as nobody gets hurt, we tend to appreciate the driver who gives his all out of the car and gives the audience a good show. But when he takes out other drivers, he's looked upon more negatively. Still, we've seen many champions in recent past become unhinged when their egos suddenly have exposed flaws; basically every one of them in the past 20-30 years. I think part of Hamilton's confidence is wounded, but not shattered...a couple of clean drives will aid that; in all sports, nothing fixes problems like winning. Still, with the dominance of Sebastian Vettel right now, a couple of good second places will suffice.

 

[F1 fan]

With Hams, I think if he has another year like this, McLaren will either drop him (in which case he's guaranteed finished) or more likely, give him a year off, and then 2014 will be all or nothing.

I don't think Mclaren will be happy with him if he has another year like this, however unless someone else really shines next year, I don't know if they'll flat out drop him. Maybe offer him a single season contract with lower pay and more press commitments, but he would leave big shoes to fill.

Hamilton has reminded me of that one kid in school, that thought he was Pele and just ignored his teammates in football. Every school had one, the kid that tried too hard all the time. He could pass to one of his team mates and set up an easy goal, instead he tries to hack his way through three defenders for a shot of glory. I will agree, he seems to have little respect for some of his competitors. But a lot of his mistakes have just been clumsy. He can also be too hotheaded, which doesn't help either. One of my friends sees his career going the way of Jacques Villeneuve's. Maybe another season like this, and Mclaren will offer him a poor contract. All of a sudden, a backmarker team will offer him a big money contract, where he'll occasionally shine, but eventually just fade out.

 

[BlacqueJacques]

I guess the silly season has officially started

"Webber is undervalued – Horner (Article) RBR chief says it's wrong for people to write-off Aussie"

Who will be driving for who next year

 

[Sach]

After this last race, I'm seriously about done with Hamilton. He's a clown. Talented, but a talented clown nonetheless. There's driving ala Senna and Schumacher in their best days, and then there are just stupid decisions made out of frustration, unfortunately far too consistently as of late.


Both Hamilton and Schumi need their heads checked this season.