Will Lewis Hamilton Be the Next Big Thing or a Disappointment?

After a fantastic year that nearly saw Lewis Hamilton become the first driver to win the Championship in his F1 debut year, he became overnight sensation.

The media and the fans seemed to forget about the other great drivers who have teased us with great potential.  The one that comes to mind is Jacques Villeneuve.

Both had hype behind them.  One carrying a legends name who must be the most respected driver to never win a championship, and the other one a synonym for McLaren and Ron Dennis.

After winning the Championship in the American Racing series, Jacques made the transition to Formula 1 with Williams, being No. 2 to the aging Damon Hill.  As Hamilton did, Jacques lived up to the hype, putting in a great rookie performance.

To compare the two, J.V. matches Hamilton in every aspect in his rookie season.  Both drivers shared four victories and five second-place finishes. J.V. had two third-place finishes and Hamilton enjoyed three.  Granted, the calendar held an extra Grand Prix in 2007.  Both drivers finished second in the driver’s championship standings.

After 11 races this season, media attention is always just as imposing on Hamilton as ever. He leads the championship by five points over the Ferrari of Kimi Raikkonen. He has 62 points, four victories, one second-place finish, one third-place finish, two fifth-places and three races where he did not record any points.

With this said, J.V. won his first and only title in his second year of racing. In 1997, after 11 races, similar to Hamilton, had five wins to his name, five retirements and one fourth- place finish.  He went on to win two more races, a third spot on the podium and two fifth-place finishes.

He concluded his season with 81 points, three over his archrival the great Schumacher, who was then disqualified from the championship due to a questionable challenge on J.V. Williams.

The question now is to fizzle or not to fizzle?  Will Hamilton win the Driver’s Title this year?  If so will he continue his success or will he, like Jacques Villeneuve, slowly fade away and be forgotten, unlike his father who will always live in the hearts of all true F1 fans?

Unlike Jacques Villeneuve, Hamilton is backed by one of the top players in the Championship, McLaren, who by the looks of it will not be releasing him anytime soon.

This is opposite of Jacques, who went on to BAR, which promised a lot but was never successful. He then had a stint with Renault and BMW Sauber, never regaining success nor popularity. 

Although McLaren have the financial resources and the team to stay on top, next year’s changes may cause problems for even the strongest teams.  

If McLaren do not adjust and Hamilton does not win the championship this year, he may have to wait a little longer before fulfilling what many Brits believe is his destiny.

If not, he will become another Jenson Button, not forgotten, but never fulfilling his destiny to be the next British Champion.  Only time will tell.

by Alberto Biagio

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