Lewis Hamilton: Astounding Or Atrocious

When Lewis Hamilton lost the World Championship in his rookie season by one point, I was one of the many who admired the rookie’s talents.  When the 2008 season began with Lewis’ victory at Melbourne, I personally thought that it was THE best way for a driver to start his championship bid after a disappointing first year. 

However, as the season progressed, I have slowly switched sides, and recently have become a fan of www.lewishamiltonsucks.com.  I am sure that I am not the only one to share this view of the Briton, and I began pondering how anyone can turn their back on an amazing driver such as Hamilton. 

Although many claim that the hatred against Hamilton is purely based on his African American roots, many also argue that they are rather tired of his antics.  For me, personally, the latter is very valid.

While Robert Kubica, in a recent interview, declared that all drivers respect one another, Hamilton made this comment when asked about the Kimi Raikkonen’s driving skills at Spa:  “That’s the way he drives. If you don’t have the balls to brake late, that’s your problem…”  This statement wouldn’t have enraged many Ferrari and Raikkonen tifosis if Hamilton had only stopped speaking after that.  However, he took the liberty to comment on Felipe Massa’s position in the championship:  “Massa is the one who has to work damn hard to keep up with me.”

In a previous interview, he has openly talked about his superiority over all the other drivers from the past and the present:  "I'm no No 2, whoever you put me next to - even Michael Schumacher."  Although I agree that every driver should consider himself second to none, blatantly claiming supremacy over a legend such as Michael Schumacher is rather primitive.

Even though one can state that Schumacher was also arrogant, and that arrogance is required to become a champion in this sport, Schumacher has seldom shown his arrogance off the track.  He might have driven reckless, he might have gotten into fights with David Coulthard over racing incidents, and he even might have even purposefully blocked the Rascasse hairpin in Monaco in 2006 to secure pole position; but no one has ever called that man arrogant, because he did what a racing driver is ought to do: drive, fight and win at any cost. 

Hamilton does have something in common with Schumacher, as he will also do anything to win.  He will drive his heart out as he declared in an interview:  “I'm a racer, I do the best job I can on the track and I race my heart off.”  That statement would have been acceptable if he had only decided to stop there; however, he continued on to say that “There’s no-one that puts more heart into it than me.” 

My question would be this:  why would people spend millions purchasing Formula One teams, and hire drivers who don’t want to put their ‘hearts’ into this sport or who don’t want to win the World Championship?”

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