Ron Dennis: Lewis Hamilton Is a Victim Of His Own Instant Success

In an interview with British Newspaper The Daily Mail, McLaren boss Ron Dennis has defended Lewis Hamilton saying that his arrogance is a result of his huge success at such a young age.

At 23-years old, Lewis Hamilton has had two of the most amazing years that anyone could dream of.  Last year saw him just lose out on a maiden-year championship title, and this year see's him have the chance to do it all over again, and come out on top, something that older drivers can only dream of.

Hamilton has faced criticism from fans and drivers over the last few months, criticism that Ron Dennis says is groundless.  Dennis also states that he has tried to keep his driver's attention away from the malicious media and keep him focused on driving.

“In any walk of life, if a young person comes in and is immediately successful, his or her competitors may struggle to come to terms with that,” Dennis said.

“What would you expect? What would you expect them to say?"

“They said it about David Beckham. They said it about others, not only in the UK."

“These kinds of people—young people who are instantly successful—always receive criticism.

“So, with respect to journalists everywhere, many of whom are doing a difficult job very well, we advise Lewis: ‘Don’t read the papers. Don’t surf the net. We can’t stop you reading the papers or surfing the net but it may disrupt your focus so please don’t’.”

At such a young age and with instant success and media attention, Dennis has said that Hamilton is on a learning curve, and dealing with it very well.

"Every driver has to have a beginning to his career," he said.

"But, when Lewis’s career beginning is already proving to be so good, as long as we can continue to provide him with competitive cars in the future, he’ll go on to surpass all records."

Much of the criticism has been from current drivers or fans of rival teams, however, last week saw former seven-time World Champion, Michael Schumacher, praise Hamilton and suggest that Hamilton could go on to beat Schumi's seven World titles.  With most of the criticism coming from the current grid, could this be a hint of jealousy?  Or is there really cause for concern in this young-man's driving ability?