Was Hamilton underrated
Discussion
SuperDude said:
Gillett66 said:
Swordman said:
Personally, I think LH is the fastest driver Formula 1 has ever seen, and I always suspected that he'll get his moment to shine.
LOLNot even close.
RumbleOfThunder said:
SuperDude said:
Gillett66 said:
Swordman said:
Personally, I think LH is the fastest driver Formula 1 has ever seen, and I always suspected that he'll get his moment to shine.
LOLNot even close.
"Who else has the one lap pace, race distance consistency, and constant razor sharp attacking style? Alonso, I believe, doesn't have the speed over one lap. Vettel doesn't have the race consistency (yeah fine he decimated the field the last four years, but he was driving the fastest car at 7/10ths in race trim) , or race craft. Button, one lap. Kimi, quali pace. Maldonado (oh give the lad a break) doesn't have the race craft. Or a brain. Or any grace in any way shape of form (but he IS quick)"
See?
See?
SEE?!
My point is, with the current regs you can compare drivers better than of years gone by.
Who could say Hamilton would be faster than Senna?
Nobody.
Oh, and:
"I've always rated Rosberg, and I truly believe he's one of the few on that grid that can give Hamilton a good run. And I hope he does. "
In response to:
"His own team mate had the measure of him in Bahrain ffs. Hamilton himself admitted Nico was faster."
It's like arguing from a f
king time machine.I personally doubt that any of these young guns can be considered as yet against Prost, Senna, Lauda, Fangio or Michael Schumacher to name but five great drivers. Personally I have always thought Hamilton an brilliant racer and very likely to succeed given the mechanics, car and power in combination. No surprise to me. I think he is a great young driver and I wish him well. Temperament may be a bit fiery but so was that of Stirling Moss and Senna. Probably comes within the territory of racing.
Only by people who thought he only won because he was given total team support by McLaren.
Personally it was evident when he was trashing the field at Euro F3 level in the mid 2000's And if anyone watched the GP2 race from Turkey in 06 where he was pun on the first lap and was last at the end of lap 1. You couldn't FAIL to be amazed at the guy.
Saying that I don't subscribe to the "ran Alonso close" argument. Fernando was definitely out of kilter during that year and Ron was already exercising bias then. I know WHY, but I think he missed a trick by not making Lewis play second fiddle for that 1 year to Fernando. That whole relationship could have been saved imo.
And there were times when Lewis clearly wasn't in the right place for driving. So to see him come good at Mercedes is great.
Is he the fastest? Dunno. Probably up there with Kimi for that award. Is he as technically proficient and as complete a driver as Senna, Prost, Schumacher and Alonso are. Maybe not. But in 2014 he's applying himself remarkably well and I hope he wins the championship.
IMO he is a step ahead of Vettel though in terms of overall package.
Personally it was evident when he was trashing the field at Euro F3 level in the mid 2000's And if anyone watched the GP2 race from Turkey in 06 where he was pun on the first lap and was last at the end of lap 1. You couldn't FAIL to be amazed at the guy.
Saying that I don't subscribe to the "ran Alonso close" argument. Fernando was definitely out of kilter during that year and Ron was already exercising bias then. I know WHY, but I think he missed a trick by not making Lewis play second fiddle for that 1 year to Fernando. That whole relationship could have been saved imo.
And there were times when Lewis clearly wasn't in the right place for driving. So to see him come good at Mercedes is great.
Is he the fastest? Dunno. Probably up there with Kimi for that award. Is he as technically proficient and as complete a driver as Senna, Prost, Schumacher and Alonso are. Maybe not. But in 2014 he's applying himself remarkably well and I hope he wins the championship.
IMO he is a step ahead of Vettel though in terms of overall package.
No doubt Hamilton is in possession of huge natural talent, he actually does remind me of Senna in his ability to bend a car to his will, even a less than good one. The tyre formulations of the past few seasons ( fickle ) were disliked by all true racers and Mercedes were certainly handicapped more than any other in this regard. It undoubtedly played into the hands of less aggressive drivers and chassis that used there tyres more effectively. There are signs that Rosberg may be wilting but for the sake of the seasons racing I hope to be proved wrong !
RumbleOfThunder said:
SuperDude said:
Gillett66 said:
Swordman said:
Personally, I think LH is the fastest driver Formula 1 has ever seen, and I always suspected that he'll get his moment to shine.
LOLNot even close.
I didn't see much of Senna, I started watching around the time of his death. So, from that point on I'd say Hamilton is the fastest driver over one lap. The best would be Michael Schumacher or Alonso. Hakkinen, Hamilton and Raikkonen below them.
SuperDude said:
I think most peoples problem with Hamilton was/is his 'lifestyle' choices. Some people seemed to care a little too much about his girlfriend, his mates, his dog, the colour of his private jet...
Absolutely agree with this, people started knocking him and trying to imply there was something "wrong" with him because he bought a dog.. unbelievable. Presumably these people would have had a fit if they knew Mark Webber has 2 or 3 dogs! No ? really ? why is that ?I think the unwanted attention became difficult for Lewis to deal with, I've seen him criticised for wearing certain clothes for example and that sort of behaviour invites the criticism.. if I remember correctly he was going out to dinner with his girlfriend. How dare he eh ?
He's a heart on his sleeve type of guy and sure, he could (should?) have dealt with whatever strife/breakup etc better, but we all make mistakes, he is only human.
I reckon life at McLaren was getting him down too - I can remember him on the radio saying stuff like " will we please tell me whats going on ?" didn't sound like the team was operating as a team.. he was visibly happier at Merc almost straight away.
Regardless, its good to see him on top of the pile again and looking as if he's really enjoying it.
Crafty_ said:
I reckon life at McLaren was getting him down too - I can remember him on the radio saying stuff like " will we please tell me whats going on ?" didn't sound like the team was operating as a team.. he was visibly happier at Merc almost straight away.
Last year he was moaning about too much info being a distraction and then not enough info.At McLaren wet-dry conditions was when Button had a distinct advantage over Lewis. Whether it was sheer luck of stick or twist when came to changing tyres or Button has the knack of reading the conditions Button has had supreme confidence in this area whereas if you remember Lewis' reaction was not only did he seem irate but utterly clueless.
He was fine last year?, do you mean 2012 that he was struggling for information ? can clearly remember him on the radio during races saying stuff like "can someone tell me whats going on?"
I don't remember him being all at sea and button being right up front but my memory isn't always the best..
I don't remember him being all at sea and button being right up front but my memory isn't always the best..
...only underrated by critics and pundits who are too busy sucking up to others on only-as-good-as-your-last-race-itis.
Anyone who follows F1 properly pays close attention to feeder series. I've seen Lewis coming since 2003 in F.Renault, where he won every race after a shaky start.
That start was a result of his only weakness - he is mentally vulnerable. At the start of 2003 he only stated his mind wasn't on the job, but once given a kick up the rse by himself, he was literally untouchable. This has largely been the case wherever he has gone in whatever series. I think this is because he sees himself as a regular guy and an all-round good guy. He therefore lets negatives get to him. The press, media and even the stewards on occasion, in case anyone has forgotten about those moments, not all of them dealt with fairly...
Lewis has beaten everyone he's come up against, including arguably the best driver on the grid (as is becoming more apparent year-on-year), Alonso, in his FIRST F1 season FFS! Would Senna have done that to Prost? Senna of 1984 & 85, while clearly fast and a future WDC, was not nearly as consistent and race aware as the Senna of 1988. Beating the-man-to-beat Alonso by 1 point, and rattling him, team favourite or not, was no mean feat.
Pundits still continue to dig at Lewis' "intelligence". Often citing things like tyre management and race awareness as a problem and being inferior to Button in this respect, despite proving many times he has this licked too. See Bahrain for the most recent example of many, eeking out the distance on soft tyres to beat the [faster] Rosberg, despite instructions from his team to push - this was race awareness, pure and simple.
Arguably the fastest. Arguably the best overtaker. Arguably the best racer. Always able to get the max out of the car AND the tyres. He's not overrated by me but it probably is by some non-fans and neutrals.
Ultimately I miss Nige. I miss entertainment and racing. Lewis, despite being a Senna fan, is actually a full Mansell British bulldog reincarnate at heart - a racer, a charger, an overtaker and most of all, an entertainer. It could be because they both have the same driving style - driving the "Mansell line" - but I like to think it's because they both have that British stiff upper-lip spirit.
And while I talk of entertainment in a dominant car, we've had 3 races with Lewis in the right car [at the right time, for the first time] and 1 of them is being billed as the race of the century already because of Lewis' nature. How many wins has Vettel had while he had the right car, at the right time, that were entertaining? Any?
In pure entertainment value, Lewis is king by a mile. That's all that matters to me. It's all that matters to most.
Anyone who follows F1 properly pays close attention to feeder series. I've seen Lewis coming since 2003 in F.Renault, where he won every race after a shaky start.
That start was a result of his only weakness - he is mentally vulnerable. At the start of 2003 he only stated his mind wasn't on the job, but once given a kick up the rse by himself, he was literally untouchable. This has largely been the case wherever he has gone in whatever series. I think this is because he sees himself as a regular guy and an all-round good guy. He therefore lets negatives get to him. The press, media and even the stewards on occasion, in case anyone has forgotten about those moments, not all of them dealt with fairly...
Lewis has beaten everyone he's come up against, including arguably the best driver on the grid (as is becoming more apparent year-on-year), Alonso, in his FIRST F1 season FFS! Would Senna have done that to Prost? Senna of 1984 & 85, while clearly fast and a future WDC, was not nearly as consistent and race aware as the Senna of 1988. Beating the-man-to-beat Alonso by 1 point, and rattling him, team favourite or not, was no mean feat.
Pundits still continue to dig at Lewis' "intelligence". Often citing things like tyre management and race awareness as a problem and being inferior to Button in this respect, despite proving many times he has this licked too. See Bahrain for the most recent example of many, eeking out the distance on soft tyres to beat the [faster] Rosberg, despite instructions from his team to push - this was race awareness, pure and simple.
Arguably the fastest. Arguably the best overtaker. Arguably the best racer. Always able to get the max out of the car AND the tyres. He's not overrated by me but it probably is by some non-fans and neutrals.
Ultimately I miss Nige. I miss entertainment and racing. Lewis, despite being a Senna fan, is actually a full Mansell British bulldog reincarnate at heart - a racer, a charger, an overtaker and most of all, an entertainer. It could be because they both have the same driving style - driving the "Mansell line" - but I like to think it's because they both have that British stiff upper-lip spirit.
And while I talk of entertainment in a dominant car, we've had 3 races with Lewis in the right car [at the right time, for the first time] and 1 of them is being billed as the race of the century already because of Lewis' nature. How many wins has Vettel had while he had the right car, at the right time, that were entertaining? Any?
In pure entertainment value, Lewis is king by a mile. That's all that matters to me. It's all that matters to most.
He has always been an exciting driver to watch. He reminded me of Mansell to an extent: tremendously fast on one lap. In certain races both drivers were unbeatable. Hamilton has matured, maintaining his speed, and has proved himself equal to any on the grid.
I'm not sure that there's anyone who could partner him in an identical car and be confident of out-scoring him at the end of the season.
Despite being a big McL fan, I have to say that he flattered the car.
F1 fans are lucky to have him on the grid. He did well in the dual with Nico. Older and slower tyres, losing 19 seconds to him, yet still won. That was quality.
If he was driving a McLaren, and McLaren were as good as Merc . . . but that's not going to happen.
The fear I have is that they are going to tell Nico to let LH go and the battle for the top place will be over. I'm not sure that would be good for LH. It certainly would not be good for the sport.
We can hope that his girlfriend will run cold and he struggle with commitment letting Nico back in.
I can't say many people underrated him. There was a whiff of criticism from fans of other drivers that I noticed on occasion, but that, I think, was a sign of how good he was. Had he been pedestrian, they would not have bothered.
What's not to rate?
I'm not sure that there's anyone who could partner him in an identical car and be confident of out-scoring him at the end of the season.
Despite being a big McL fan, I have to say that he flattered the car.
F1 fans are lucky to have him on the grid. He did well in the dual with Nico. Older and slower tyres, losing 19 seconds to him, yet still won. That was quality.
If he was driving a McLaren, and McLaren were as good as Merc . . . but that's not going to happen.
The fear I have is that they are going to tell Nico to let LH go and the battle for the top place will be over. I'm not sure that would be good for LH. It certainly would not be good for the sport.
We can hope that his girlfriend will run cold and he struggle with commitment letting Nico back in.
I can't say many people underrated him. There was a whiff of criticism from fans of other drivers that I noticed on occasion, but that, I think, was a sign of how good he was. Had he been pedestrian, they would not have bothered.
What's not to rate?
mattikake said:
...only underrated by critics and pundits who are too busy sucking up to others on only-as-good-as-your-last-race-itis.
Anyone who follows F1 properly pays close attention to feeder series. I've seen Lewis coming since 2003 in F.Renault, where he won every race after a shaky start.
That start was a result of his only weakness - he is mentally vulnerable. At the start of 2003 he only stated his mind wasn't on the job, but once given a kick up the rse by himself, he was literally untouchable. This has largely been the case wherever he has gone in whatever series. I think this is because he sees himself as a regular guy and an all-round good guy. He therefore lets negatives get to him. The press, media and even the stewards on occasion, in case anyone has forgotten about those moments, not all of them dealt with fairly...
Lewis has beaten everyone he's come up against, including arguably the best driver on the grid (as is becoming more apparent year-on-year), Alonso, in his FIRST F1 season FFS! Would Senna have done that to Prost? Senna of 1984 & 85, while clearly fast and a future WDC, was not nearly as consistent and race aware as the Senna of 1988. Beating the-man-to-beat Alonso by 1 point, and rattling him, team favourite or not, was no mean feat.
Pundits still continue to dig at Lewis' "intelligence". Often citing things like tyre management and race awareness as a problem and being inferior to Button in this respect, despite proving many times he has this licked too. See Bahrain for the most recent example of many, eeking out the distance on soft tyres to beat the [faster] Rosberg, despite instructions from his team to push - this was race awareness, pure and simple.
Arguably the fastest. Arguably the best overtaker. Arguably the best racer. Always able to get the max out of the car AND the tyres. He's not overrated by me but it probably is by some non-fans and neutrals.
Ultimately I miss Nige. I miss entertainment and racing. Lewis, despite being a Senna fan, is actually a full Mansell British bulldog reincarnate at heart - a racer, a charger, an overtaker and most of all, an entertainer. It could be because they both have the same driving style - driving the "Mansell line" - but I like to think it's because they both have that British stiff upper-lip spirit.
And while I talk of entertainment in a dominant car, we've had 3 races with Lewis in the right car [at the right time, for the first time] and 1 of them is being billed as the race of the century already because of Lewis' nature. How many wins has Vettel had while he had the right car, at the right time, that were entertaining? Any?
In pure entertainment value, Lewis is king by a mile. That's all that matters to me. It's all that matters to most.
Anyone who follows F1 properly pays close attention to feeder series. I've seen Lewis coming since 2003 in F.Renault, where he won every race after a shaky start.
That start was a result of his only weakness - he is mentally vulnerable. At the start of 2003 he only stated his mind wasn't on the job, but once given a kick up the rse by himself, he was literally untouchable. This has largely been the case wherever he has gone in whatever series. I think this is because he sees himself as a regular guy and an all-round good guy. He therefore lets negatives get to him. The press, media and even the stewards on occasion, in case anyone has forgotten about those moments, not all of them dealt with fairly...
Lewis has beaten everyone he's come up against, including arguably the best driver on the grid (as is becoming more apparent year-on-year), Alonso, in his FIRST F1 season FFS! Would Senna have done that to Prost? Senna of 1984 & 85, while clearly fast and a future WDC, was not nearly as consistent and race aware as the Senna of 1988. Beating the-man-to-beat Alonso by 1 point, and rattling him, team favourite or not, was no mean feat.
Pundits still continue to dig at Lewis' "intelligence". Often citing things like tyre management and race awareness as a problem and being inferior to Button in this respect, despite proving many times he has this licked too. See Bahrain for the most recent example of many, eeking out the distance on soft tyres to beat the [faster] Rosberg, despite instructions from his team to push - this was race awareness, pure and simple.
Arguably the fastest. Arguably the best overtaker. Arguably the best racer. Always able to get the max out of the car AND the tyres. He's not overrated by me but it probably is by some non-fans and neutrals.
Ultimately I miss Nige. I miss entertainment and racing. Lewis, despite being a Senna fan, is actually a full Mansell British bulldog reincarnate at heart - a racer, a charger, an overtaker and most of all, an entertainer. It could be because they both have the same driving style - driving the "Mansell line" - but I like to think it's because they both have that British stiff upper-lip spirit.
And while I talk of entertainment in a dominant car, we've had 3 races with Lewis in the right car [at the right time, for the first time] and 1 of them is being billed as the race of the century already because of Lewis' nature. How many wins has Vettel had while he had the right car, at the right time, that were entertaining? Any?
In pure entertainment value, Lewis is king by a mile. That's all that matters to me. It's all that matters to most.
RichB said:
RichB said:
mattikake said:
...only underrated by critics and pundits who are too busy sucking up to others on only-as-good-as-your-last-race-itis.
Anyone who follows F1 properly pays close attention to feeder series. I've seen Lewis coming since 2003 in F.Renault, where he won every race after a shaky start.
That start was a result of his only weakness - he is mentally vulnerable. At the start of 2003 he only stated his mind wasn't on the job, but once given a kick up the rse by himself, he was literally untouchable. This has largely been the case wherever he has gone in whatever series. I think this is because he sees himself as a regular guy and an all-round good guy. He therefore lets negatives get to him. The press, media and even the stewards on occasion, in case anyone has forgotten about those moments, not all of them dealt with fairly...
Lewis has beaten everyone he's come up against, including arguably the best driver on the grid (as is becoming more apparent year-on-year), Alonso, in his FIRST F1 season FFS! Would Senna have done that to Prost? Senna of 1984 & 85, while clearly fast and a future WDC, was not nearly as consistent and race aware as the Senna of 1988. Beating the-man-to-beat Alonso by 1 point, and rattling him, team favourite or not, was no mean feat.
Pundits still continue to dig at Lewis' "intelligence". Often citing things like tyre management and race awareness as a problem and being inferior to Button in this respect, despite proving many times he has this licked too. See Bahrain for the most recent example of many, eeking out the distance on soft tyres to beat the [faster] Rosberg, despite instructions from his team to push - this was race awareness, pure and simple.
Arguably the fastest. Arguably the best overtaker. Arguably the best racer. Always able to get the max out of the car AND the tyres. He's not overrated by me but it probably is by some non-fans and neutrals.
Ultimately I miss Nige. I miss entertainment and racing. Lewis, despite being a Senna fan, is actually a full Mansell British bulldog reincarnate at heart - a racer, a charger, an overtaker and most of all, an entertainer. It could be because they both have the same driving style - driving the "Mansell line" - but I like to think it's because they both have that British stiff upper-lip spirit.
And while I talk of entertainment in a dominant car, we've had 3 races with Lewis in the right car [at the right time, for the first time] and 1 of them is being billed as the race of the century already because of Lewis' nature. How many wins has Vettel had while he had the right car, at the right time, that were entertaining? Any?
In pure entertainment value, Lewis is king by a mile. That's all that matters to me. It's all that matters to most.
Anyone who follows F1 properly pays close attention to feeder series. I've seen Lewis coming since 2003 in F.Renault, where he won every race after a shaky start.
That start was a result of his only weakness - he is mentally vulnerable. At the start of 2003 he only stated his mind wasn't on the job, but once given a kick up the rse by himself, he was literally untouchable. This has largely been the case wherever he has gone in whatever series. I think this is because he sees himself as a regular guy and an all-round good guy. He therefore lets negatives get to him. The press, media and even the stewards on occasion, in case anyone has forgotten about those moments, not all of them dealt with fairly...
Lewis has beaten everyone he's come up against, including arguably the best driver on the grid (as is becoming more apparent year-on-year), Alonso, in his FIRST F1 season FFS! Would Senna have done that to Prost? Senna of 1984 & 85, while clearly fast and a future WDC, was not nearly as consistent and race aware as the Senna of 1988. Beating the-man-to-beat Alonso by 1 point, and rattling him, team favourite or not, was no mean feat.
Pundits still continue to dig at Lewis' "intelligence". Often citing things like tyre management and race awareness as a problem and being inferior to Button in this respect, despite proving many times he has this licked too. See Bahrain for the most recent example of many, eeking out the distance on soft tyres to beat the [faster] Rosberg, despite instructions from his team to push - this was race awareness, pure and simple.
Arguably the fastest. Arguably the best overtaker. Arguably the best racer. Always able to get the max out of the car AND the tyres. He's not overrated by me but it probably is by some non-fans and neutrals.
Ultimately I miss Nige. I miss entertainment and racing. Lewis, despite being a Senna fan, is actually a full Mansell British bulldog reincarnate at heart - a racer, a charger, an overtaker and most of all, an entertainer. It could be because they both have the same driving style - driving the "Mansell line" - but I like to think it's because they both have that British stiff upper-lip spirit.
And while I talk of entertainment in a dominant car, we've had 3 races with Lewis in the right car [at the right time, for the first time] and 1 of them is being billed as the race of the century already because of Lewis' nature. How many wins has Vettel had while he had the right car, at the right time, that were entertaining? Any?
In pure entertainment value, Lewis is king by a mile. That's all that matters to me. It's all that matters to most.
Best post on ph for a long time. Most posts are utter shiz.
A better topic would be who thinks f1 would be dull without Lewis?
Edited by Spawn on Tuesday 22 April 23:26
mattikake said:
Lewis has beaten everyone he's come up against
You make a lot of very excellent points but this one intrigues me... Has anyone else ever done that bar Schumacher (I'm ignoring his time after retiring)? Even then you wouldn't say Schumacher had the best team mates - bar Piquet early on and that was at the end of Piquet's career.Spawn said:
RichB said:
mattikake said:
...only underrated by critics and pundits who are too busy sucking up to others on only-as-good-as-your-last-race-itis.
Anyone who follows F1 properly pays close attention to feeder series. I've seen Lewis coming since 2003 in F.Renault, where he won every race after a shaky start.
That start was a result of his only weakness - he is mentally vulnerable. At the start of 2003 he only stated his mind wasn't on the job, but once given a kick up the rse by himself, he was literally untouchable. This has largely been the case wherever he has gone in whatever series. I think this is because he sees himself as a regular guy and an all-round good guy. He therefore lets negatives get to him. The press, media and even the stewards on occasion, in case anyone has forgotten about those moments, not all of them dealt with fairly...
Lewis has beaten everyone he's come up against, including arguably the best driver on the grid (as is becoming more apparent year-on-year), Alonso, in his FIRST F1 season FFS! Would Senna have done that to Prost? Senna of 1984 & 85, while clearly fast and a future WDC, was not nearly as consistent and race aware as the Senna of 1988. Beating the-man-to-beat Alonso by 1 point, and rattling him, team favourite or not, was no mean feat.
Pundits still continue to dig at Lewis' "intelligence". Often citing things like tyre management and race awareness as a problem and being inferior to Button in this respect, despite proving many times he has this licked too. See Bahrain for the most recent example of many, eeking out the distance on soft tyres to beat the [faster] Rosberg, despite instructions from his team to push - this was race awareness, pure and simple.
Arguably the fastest. Arguably the best overtaker. Arguably the best racer. Always able to get the max out of the car AND the tyres. He's not overrated by me but it probably is by some non-fans and neutrals.
Ultimately I miss Nige. I miss entertainment and racing. Lewis, despite being a Senna fan, is actually a full Mansell British bulldog reincarnate at heart - a racer, a charger, an overtaker and most of all, an entertainer. It could be because they both have the same driving style - driving the "Mansell line" - but I like to think it's because they both have that British stiff upper-lip spirit.
And while I talk of entertainment in a dominant car, we've had 3 races with Lewis in the right car [at the right time, for the first time] and 1 of them is being billed as the race of the century already because of Lewis' nature. How many wins has Vettel had while he had the right car, at the right time, that were entertaining? Any?
In pure entertainment value, Lewis is king by a mile. That's all that matters to me. It's all that matters to most.
Anyone who follows F1 properly pays close attention to feeder series. I've seen Lewis coming since 2003 in F.Renault, where he won every race after a shaky start.
That start was a result of his only weakness - he is mentally vulnerable. At the start of 2003 he only stated his mind wasn't on the job, but once given a kick up the rse by himself, he was literally untouchable. This has largely been the case wherever he has gone in whatever series. I think this is because he sees himself as a regular guy and an all-round good guy. He therefore lets negatives get to him. The press, media and even the stewards on occasion, in case anyone has forgotten about those moments, not all of them dealt with fairly...
Lewis has beaten everyone he's come up against, including arguably the best driver on the grid (as is becoming more apparent year-on-year), Alonso, in his FIRST F1 season FFS! Would Senna have done that to Prost? Senna of 1984 & 85, while clearly fast and a future WDC, was not nearly as consistent and race aware as the Senna of 1988. Beating the-man-to-beat Alonso by 1 point, and rattling him, team favourite or not, was no mean feat.
Pundits still continue to dig at Lewis' "intelligence". Often citing things like tyre management and race awareness as a problem and being inferior to Button in this respect, despite proving many times he has this licked too. See Bahrain for the most recent example of many, eeking out the distance on soft tyres to beat the [faster] Rosberg, despite instructions from his team to push - this was race awareness, pure and simple.
Arguably the fastest. Arguably the best overtaker. Arguably the best racer. Always able to get the max out of the car AND the tyres. He's not overrated by me but it probably is by some non-fans and neutrals.
Ultimately I miss Nige. I miss entertainment and racing. Lewis, despite being a Senna fan, is actually a full Mansell British bulldog reincarnate at heart - a racer, a charger, an overtaker and most of all, an entertainer. It could be because they both have the same driving style - driving the "Mansell line" - but I like to think it's because they both have that British stiff upper-lip spirit.
And while I talk of entertainment in a dominant car, we've had 3 races with Lewis in the right car [at the right time, for the first time] and 1 of them is being billed as the race of the century already because of Lewis' nature. How many wins has Vettel had while he had the right car, at the right time, that were entertaining? Any?
In pure entertainment value, Lewis is king by a mile. That's all that matters to me. It's all that matters to most.
Best post on ph for a long time. Most posts are utter shiz.
A better topic would be who thinks f1 would be dull with out Lewis?
Edited by Efbe on Tuesday 22 April 23:36
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