When Lewis Hamilton entered the McLaren team at the start of the 2007 F1 season, he was an unfamiliar name to most in the world of motorsport. His relative fame came from his previous season in GP2, but anyone who had been following his career knew that he was something special.
The media picked up on his previous success and he was quickly dubbed as the next British World Champion. They focused on what type of driver he was and what drove him to win. He was what the British fans, and maybe those all around the world, had been waiting for: a true racing driver.
Many F1 drivers have the ability to drive at 200 mph+ with great precision, but only certain drivers, such as Senna and Schumacher, have been real racing drivers with talent like no other.
Lewis had received sponsorship from McLaren earlier in his karting career and Ron Dennis knew that he was a raw talent. Dennis had mentored the young driver through the years, and some say this helped make him a better driver.
Most aspiring drivers get no help from big race teams and have to make it alone through the race formulae to get noticed by the big boys in F1. Lewis was in a unique position allowing him to talk with McLaren about a drive in F1.
Many thought McLaren would sign Lewis as a test driver for a year, but Ron Dennis chose Lewis to take the No. 2 seat next to two-time world champion Fernando Alonso.
The press and public believed that Alonso would prove a good mentor for Lewis, once in the seat. Lewis started the season hoping he could win one race, and the team probably hoped to give Alonso his third world championship.
The world of F1 was very surprised indeed when at the Australian Grand Prix Lewis qualified fourth and finished third. A podium on his debut was a real result!
The results kept coming and Lewis had his first GP win five races later in Canada. Other than a retirement in China, his worst result all season was ninth. In total he amassed 12 podiums, four wins, and six pole positions in his first season.
His success that season was tarred by the spygate scandal in which McLaren had been leaked key technical information from Ferrari. McLaren were stripped of all their constructors points for the season and it's my opinion that the drivers would probably have been penalised too if there hadn't been such an exciting title race ensuing.
Lewis ended the season second, losing by one point to Kimi Räikkönen and finishing ahead of his teammate. Some said that it was a fluke and that Lewis just wasn't good enough to win. As a rookie he needed more maturity to be able to win it. Some say that it was the car, especially as they had some Ferrari secrets.
I say that Lewis just pushed too hard at times, taking risks at the wrong moments. He had a lot to prove and nothing to lose.
The 2008 season is underway—in fact, we're over halfway through. This time Lewis' teammate is Heikki Kovalainen. Lewis is back on form and looks unstoppable at times. He won the first race in Australia and has since won three additional races.
He's had a couple of penalties and made a few mistakes but in the last two races, the British and German Grands Prix, we've seen the side to Lewis that was just waiting to get out.
His performance in the rain at Silverstone was unmatched. He finished the race 68.5 seconds ahead of second place. The only mistake he made all race was a slight off on the grass, while more seasoned drivers like Felipe Massa spun five times in total in the wet.
Hamilton's wet race ability seems to be quite special. All his wet races seem to have been good, including his commanding drive in the wet last season in Japan.
Now we come back to analyse his recent race in Germany.
Last weekend's grand prix at Hockenheim was outstanding. At first he just took off from the rest of the pack including Massa's Ferrari in second place.
He was building up such a lead that it was like he was qualifying all over again. His first pit stop went well, as did those of his rivals, but there was a problem when the safety car came out as a result of Timo Glock's pit wall crash.
The lead Lewis built up had suddenly gone but when the pit lane opened under the safety car, Lewis did not pit where as nearly all the other cars did. He had a car at the front of the pack that need to pit several laps later. After the safety car went in Lewis stormed off in the distance, but the time he gained wasn't enough to get back out in first place.
He had three cars in front on him, one of which was his teammate. Lewis' speed was still noticeable and his lap times were much faster than the rest of the field. One by one he picked of each car in front of him like the other cars were on an in-lap. It was another great win!
Lewis Hamilton is only leading Massa in the championship race by four points, but he is becoming a more confident and consistent driver. His immaturity is diminishing and his ability on the track is second to none.
Of all the drivers currently in the championship he is the most naturally talented—a joy to watch. Provided his car remains reliable, he is the most likely driver to win the 2008 Formula 1 World Championship.
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2 months ago
The most naturally talented, I think not.
from 2 months ago
Paul this is Toby's first article, could you not welcome him to Bleacher and maybe expand a little on your comment ? Just because you have a hatred for Lewis it doesnt mean that you should attack a piece of work by a new member because of it ... Why not explain as to why you disagree with his points and maybe supply some feedback to help in his next article ? Oh and please note the Bleacher Terms of use when doing this rather than starting a slanging match. Thanks Paul, your input is appreciated !
from 2 months ago
A simple comment nothing more!
Oh and welcome Toby!
from 2 months ago
Thanks Paul.
from 2 months ago
Toby
Hi - good article mate, really like it
we might have to agree to disagree on the ONLY most naturally talented driver claim - I think I'll put alonso and Kimster in the loop too
good on ya - good start
2 months ago
Hey Toby ... First of all Welcome to Bleacher, thanks for your first contribution and I hope you enjoy your stay here ... Trust me its only a matter of time before your hooked ! Ha ha ... This is a great first article ... You have some good points made in it and I agree with a lot of what you say and to be honest I think it is a VERY fair comment to say that Lewis can be the next WDC, as early as THIS YEAR ! ... Its is most certainly a possibility ! Thanks again for contributing and I look forward to your next piece.
2 months ago
Thanks for the comments.
2 months ago
Great article toby , for the first time as well , its a very well written piece . i agree with you , Lewis hamilton is naturally gifted without a doubt , he has to be to record the success that he has done already , regardless of if he has a quick car . he will be lifting the WDC trophy for 2008 .
welcome to bleacher report , enjoy your stay , and keep up the good work mate ........oh and 5 stars too .
2 months ago
good first article... like lewis hamilton's podium ;)
totally agree with your views... i really hope lewis can pull it off this season, it would be amazing if he did. 5*... keep it up :)
2 months ago
Certainly it is the case that Lewis Hamilton's first year and a half in F1 has been without precedent. Through his first and second years he has been in contention for the lead in the standings. His wet weather drives have been very impressive, and his qualifying results top notch. He has made big mistakes, as was shown at the end of last year when he had two shots to clinch the titel by bringing home a points esult, rather than a win. But it was his rookie year, and he had to have been under immense pressure, so I wouldn't take a lot from his evaluation, based on that.
The other criticism that coudl be levelled at him would be that last year he stepped into a team with a team mate who developed a great car, and that he, Hamilton, sort of rode Alono's coattails. Maybe it is a little early to tell, but this years seems to show that LH can be the lead driver who nto only races, but also devedlops the car. frankly alot of my questiosn about him have been answered in the rain at Monaco and Silverstone, and in the sun at Hockenheim. Whether he appraoches the pantheon of Clark, Senna et al, time will tell. He may be on that long path.
2 months ago
Welcome to Bleacher mate, great start here, 5 stars and POTD coming your way.
He is very good, we all know that, but we will have to wait and see whther he takes the WDC this year. He will be a champ, no doubt though.
he has made mistakes, but so has everyone, I mean schumy made countless errors and cheated so many times.
no-one is perfect, and neither is lewis, far from it. for me, he still has quite a lot to prove to the veterans.
2 months ago
Nice piece, Toby. I'm not so sure Lewis is the most naturally talented, but I would so love to see him win the WDC this year, partly because we do not know which teams will be strongest next year. But there's many a slip twixt cup and lip, so roll on the next installment of this crackerjack season.
2 months ago
Welcome Toby! Nice, well written article. I share your sentiment that Lewis may very well win this year's championship. Not only is his confidence growing...but I could hear/see s sigh of despair out of the Ferrari camp this past weekend. Kimi was even quoted as saying Mclaren have the pace right now. A Hamilton championship is more than possible this year (and I see it happening).
2 months ago
Tervetuloa sivustoon Tobby! HURRAA!
Well it's ok article, it's better than mine first article here. But i think it's easy to judge about his talent in first two seasons in top cars. I see that Nico Rosberg and some other drivers as well are more talented than Lewis, but who cares for that.
A True World Champion have to develop himselfs trough smaller teams and slower cars and to reach out the maximum of it, not to jump in well prepared McLaren-Mercedes and flying to the top. That may not last forever.
from 2 months ago
Yours was honest and objective
from 2 months ago
If a driver is good enough for a top team, what exactly would be the point of slogging around in an uncompetitive car for two seasons? They all drive many seasons in other race formats before they get to F1.
Lewis is certainly lucky to land in a McLaren while they are on song, and you are certainly right that it may not last, in fact I am quite certain it won't. I would just love to know why you think Nico Rosberg is "more talented than Lewis", but they would need to be in equal cars for us know for sure.
from 2 months ago
hmh, starting a career in tom team, making good results, fighting for championship, and even take title....well we saw that drivers who entered in big teams simply burned out.
That's why i said that greatest drivers should go step by step, first to learn how it looks like to fight in middle field and then to prove themselfs in some big teams and fighting for championship.
I know it wasn't plesent for Alan Jones when he made his return to F1 as world champion and struggling in uncompetative cars.
Formula 1 is cruel, so making any prediction about anything, even about the fact that Lewis will be world champion is not ok. Let's wait and see.
2 months ago
As drivers come through the ranks, it becomes clear which ones are stand outs, which ones fold, who is fast but not quick. This of course is not set in stone but is a good indicator and Nico is the hottest property on the grid, Williams knows it and are hanging out for the right deal, although they have only one year left. Nico will go to BMW or Mercedes. Nico has been earmarked for the top for a long time. 2005 he was offered a place on the aerodynamics course at Imperial College London, instead he opted for the new GP2 series, where he went on to become it's champion. The following year he was signed by Williams in his entry he was given their engineering aptitude test, which he scored higher than any driver they ever had drive for them. This guy is BMW/Mercedes material and either team will build their team around this young man who is such a nice person. Nico is going to be a real superstar!
2 months ago
One point, as this is about Hamilton, I would wager anything that if BMW or Mercedes were given the choice of any driver, it would be Nico.
2 months ago
I do think that Lewis will be a superstar, but he has had too much too early. Sebatien Vettel has murdered so much of the field in a car that should really be fighting wit the Force India's.
For me, Vettel, Kubica and maybe Rosberg have more to offer, but Lewis has the better car for now. I can see Nico at McLaren for 2010, then we would see a big fight.
from 2 months ago
Completely agree with that!
from 2 months ago
Disagree. I think we all saw what is going on with Heikki in McLaren. Some people call it bad luck, i call the things real name: number 2 driver.
So i wouldn't expect that Hamilton have competative team mate as long as he is in McLaren.
Also i don't think that Rosberg is keen to move to McLaren, that guy knows what he's doing. BMW, yes, looks more fair for him to move there, but not next season.
Look what happen to Fernando, some people didn't like to see him in front of Lewis.
from 2 months ago
hold on here, he finished on level points with his teammate last year, a two time world champion!
fernando's contract was cancelled because of his attitude towards his own team-mate. simple as.
2 months ago
Fernando is not at McLaren, because he refused to drive in a team where things were not equal. If Hamilton went to Renault right now, I would wager the farm, that he would be beaten with ease by Alonso.
from 2 months ago
No his contract got terminated by Mclaren . and your having a giraffe aint ya ? if lewis was in a renault he would be all over alonso , i mean Piquet is out doing fernando right now , and i guarantee you lewis would do that week in week out , i would put my house , my car and every penny i had on it .
2 months ago
My Problem with Lewis rigt now (and I'm not downing him, I'm just trying to find the only bad things about him, cause he clearly could be the 6th God of Motor Sport)
Monaco - Fastest Lap: LH was 6th - 2 Seconds!! off of Kimi's Fastest Lap
Silverstone - Fastest Lap: LH was 3rd behind Kimi and Nick - 6 tenths off of Kimi's Fastest Lap
Hockenheim - Fastest Lap: LH had the 2nd Fastest Lap
Now in these apparent Great Drives....HOW do you Not have the Fastest Lap (espeically Monaco 2 seconds off, and the fact that he has No Fastest Laps yet this year at all), if at different times in htese races you were pushing to the Limit, being 1 secona lap faster than anyone else, and winning with ease and domination??
The only explination?? Look back in History....who was known to baffle stat people like me and be a God of Motor Sport but hardly ever get fast lap....Ayrton Senna. So who knows.......
2 months ago
Ayrton Senna only had 19 fastest laps, so i wouldn't not count him.
It's far eaasy for Lewis Hamilton to drive a fast car that can be consistant, and speaking about him like some most talented, that he would beat Alonso in Renault is just rubbish. I don't want to listen those things simply because they're not true.
Lewis will burn up. He has to learn how it looks like to fight for 8th place, and that knowledge that you pick in those fights are worthy.
from 2 months ago
For my money, fastest laps are important. People hate it being said but Prost got the better of Senna, he also dominated the fastest laps. If one took the time, to do a +/- stat for the two, they would find out, that Alain Prost was just better at delivering the goods.
The only thing fastt about Hamilton, is his mouth!
from 2 months ago
Fastest laps don't currently count towards anything, Consistency is key in Formula One. So far nobody has been completely consistent, and this is reflected in the close points.
Hamilton is a quick driver, raikkonen is a quick driver, etc etc, but RAikkonen has lacked passion this year, whereas Hamilton has showed bucket loads, and to say he only has a fast mouth, is utter ****!
2 months ago
The perfect name for Hamilton is Motormouth! As for Kimi not having passion, how do you know, just because he does not act like Hamilton the clown, does not mean he does not have passion. You seem rather rabid about Hamilton, yet he is not even the best English driver.
2 months ago
Aha, i think i can see the point when it comes to fastest laps if we talk about Hamilton. So, in his case fastest laps are not important. But of course that some people would say something if Räikkönen doesn't have so much fastest laps. Or Alonso. Ryan, i think that his perfect car shows Hamilton preformances, not him.
Paul is right, there was and still is much better English drivers than Ron's baby. Well i didn't noticed than any any of you has mentioned Antony Davidson, or any other young english driver who didn't had chance to drive McLaren car.
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