Fools Give You Reasons: Lewis And I

Who is really impartial?

I claim to be a guy who enjoys competitive racing, a true F1 enthusiast who can appreciate all the talents, and get a real buzz out of seeing an exciting newcomer do well. It is an honest claim, and I would always rather see a battle on the track than anybody cruising to victory.

When I first watched F1 on TV it was in black and white, and I vividly remember hearing on the radio that Jim Clark had been killed. That gives an idea of how long I have been following the sport, and I'm still crazy, after all these years.

Rarely have I been influenced by a driver's nationality, and I believe that is true of most F1 fans, and most sports fans generally. We are not so dumb as to believe they are competing for flag and country, and there has to be something else about them that strikes a personal resonance with us, and makes us care if they win or lose.

The great and monstrously unsuccessful Jean Alesi was one of my favourites along the way, as was the tragic Jochen Rindt. For reasons unknown to me I never felt any connection to Brit drivers Nigel Mansell or Damon Hill, yet I thought I was seeing one of the greats emerge when Jacques Villeneuve came to F1.

I can't pick lottery numbers worth a damn, either.

In 2007 Lewis Hamilton arrived at McLaren. He had appeared occasionally on British TV, and I was aware of him narrowly winning the GP2 championship, but I did not take a lot of notice of him. As that season progressed, and Hammy made a big mark on the sport, I became caught up in the Lewis fever.

He irritated the hell out of me sometimes, but I loved his aggression, and his total refusal to acknowledge double world champion Fernando Alonso as top man in the team. Then, with an amazing debut season championship within his grasp, he fumbled it, he dropped the ball.

In 2008 the irritation was still there, and Lewis again gave us a roller-coaster ride, swinging between triumph and farce on his way to winning the championship under circumstances that nobody could have found satisfactory. Next year, I thought, we'll see a more mature Lewis Hamilton stamp his authority on the sport.

So 2009 came along, and my heart was torn by the liargate affair, but it soon healed, for I cannot base my opinion of anyone on one petty foolishness.

We have seen F1's other British driver scoop most of the prizes so far, while Lewis has been let down by poor car design. I do not begrudge Button his victories, he has had a long time waiting in the wings, but his smiling face on the podium does nothing for the F1 fire in my belly, and I do not know why that is.

At the Melbourne Grand Prix, ITV commentator Martin Brundle quoted someone in McLaren as saying "we will win in Spain."

McLaren did not win in Spain, as you probably know.

I like to imagine there was an impromptu race strategy meeting in the McLaren garage, at which Martin Whitmarsh said, "The car's really slow, so let's burden Lewis with a ton of fuel, so he can really chew hell out of his tyres."

Everybody nodded and agreed. "Yes boss, that's the sort of bone-headed idea Ron would have been proud of."

So Lewis continues to struggle with both a slow car and the traditional McLaren strategic ineptitude. I can wait, I will wait, and in the meantime I'll still enjoy F1, because it's not just about one man.

I do not assume that Lewis is the best driver in F1. Maybe Alonso is, maybe Vettel, and Massa has a good claim to that title. Yet my F1 heart is connected to Lewis, and I do not care why.

Oscar Hammerstein II wrote "Who can explain it? Who can tell you why? Fools give you reasons; Wise men never try.” True, Hammerstein was not writing about F1, but he could have been.

If McLaren can find a way through the forest they are lost in, what I want to see is a titanic Hamilton/Vettel battle in late 2009 or in 2010. That will be all my wishes come true, but I won't be impartial.

Jai ho, Lewis Hamilton, jai ho.