Lewis Hamilton
Discussion
Hungrymc said:
eccles said:
Oh I'm calm, hence the 'gentle pisstake' comment.
Out of interest, do you consider people who recognise he has his share of off days, and even on good days on occasion is still beaten by his team mate, and has his own idiosyncrasies which many find irritating, to still be fan boys? It's hard to think of any great driver who didn't have some combination of those "flaws". It's as if expectations of Lewis are far higher than the others, which I find very odd.
eccles said:
Hungrymc said:
eccles said:
Oh I'm calm, hence the 'gentle pisstake' comment.
Out of interest, do you consider people who recognise he has his share of off days, and even on good days on occasion is still beaten by his team mate, and has his own idiosyncrasies which many find irritating, to still be fan boys? It's hard to think of any great driver who didn't have some combination of those "flaws". It's as if expectations of Lewis are far higher than the others, which I find very odd.
I do wonder how many of the more rabid fans either have actually seen him race live and/or saw him in lower formulae? Or do they become fans only when people enter F1 ? We should be told - fandom of the type I've seen at Grands Prix (jeering at the bad guy etc ) is genuinely a mystery to me in motor sport . Oddly ,it didn't really exist pre Mansell with the notable exception of the Brands Hatch riot of 76
coppice said:
I do wonder how many of the more rabid fans either have actually seen him race live and/or saw him in lower formulae? Or do they become fans only when people enter F1 ? We should be told - fandom of the type I've seen at Grands Prix (jeering at the bad guy etc ) is genuinely a mystery to me in motor sport . Oddly ,it didn't really exist pre Mansell with the notable exception of the Brands Hatch riot of 76
A very valid point. I wonder how many went to Silverstone just to see Hamilton? He must have put a couple of thousand on the gate, surely? Have Silverstone's losses over recent years been contained because of the Hamilton effect?Dermot O'Logical said:
coppice said:
I do wonder how many of the more rabid fans either have actually seen him race live and/or saw him in lower formulae? Or do they become fans only when people enter F1 ? We should be told - fandom of the type I've seen at Grands Prix (jeering at the bad guy etc ) is genuinely a mystery to me in motor sport . Oddly ,it didn't really exist pre Mansell with the notable exception of the Brands Hatch riot of 76
A very valid point. I wonder how many went to Silverstone just to see Hamilton? He must have put a couple of thousand on the gate, surely? Have Silverstone's losses over recent years been contained because of the Hamilton effect?I've seen his lower formulae races and to be honest; that's what makes me a fan of his, above and beyond almost anything else. His ability is astonishing and in even cars; you could see the edge he genuinely brought. It's a shame his celeb lifestyle puts people off because, for me; I find it easy to ignore that stuff; it's purely the racing that gets me.
48Valves said:
One of the things that really supprised me at Silverstone last week was by just how many the people wearing Mercedes/Hamilton merchandise outnumbered not just the next popular team/driver, but all of the others combined.
Hardly surprising though is it? I personally don't see it as indicative of anything other than the sheep-like nature of the average British person. The British just love to be a part of something but often lack the requisite imagination and look to popular culture/social media for confirmation/acceptance.The same tribal dedication will be on show at Monza, however, they support Ferrari and their number 1 driver regardless of whether they are at the back of the grid or at the front. I doubt the British would show the same level of patriotism had their team or driver underperformed for 6 years - there have been numerous examples which prove this.
InductionRoar said:
48Valves said:
One of the things that really supprised me at Silverstone last week was by just how many the people wearing Mercedes/Hamilton merchandise outnumbered not just the next popular team/driver, but all of the others combined.
Hardly surprising though is it? I personally don't see it as indicative of anything other than the sheep-like nature of the average British person. The British just love to be a part of something but often lack the requisite imagination and look to popular culture/social media for confirmation/acceptance.The same tribal dedication will be on show at Monza, however, they support Ferrari and their number 1 driver regardless of whether they are at the back of the grid or at the front. I doubt the British would show the same level of patriotism had their team or driver underperformed for 6 years - there have been numerous examples which prove this.
the worldwide F1 fan base must all be sheep then - as Hamilton is by far the most popular driver worldwide. I've been at other races where, whilst not as extreme; Hamilton is by far the most represented driver; tshirts, flags, etc. Ecclestone said it himself. Can I ask; have you been to an F1 race? If so which ones?
LDN said:
the worldwide F1 fan base must all be sheep then - as Hamilton is by far the most popular driver worldwide. I've been at other races where, whilst not as extreme; Hamilton is by far the most represented driver; tshirts, flags, etc. Ecclestone said it himself. Can I ask; have you been to an F1 race? If so which ones?
Silverstone in 2008 and Hamilton was nowhere near as well represented as he is now. Same driver, what could have changed?
swisstoni said:
InductionRoar said:
Silverstone in 2008 and Hamilton was nowhere near as well represented as he is now. Same driver, what could have changed?
A glittering career ? If by glittering you mean successful then, yes I agree, which supports my previous point. The British love to support a proven commodity whereas, the Tifosi support "their" team regardless of the position they hold on track or the championship. Exciting drives? From pole and driving into the distance? I would personally say Alonso, Verstappen and Ricciardo have contributed more excitement than Hamilton, which considering the length of time Verstappen has been in the sport compared to Hamilton is telling. Most of Hamilton's exciting drives have involved collisions with other drivers (usually his teammate).
WDCs won without No2 teammates? In order to be designated a number 2 driver they must be of a similar skill level, otherwise they don't need such a distinction. Case in point is Kovaleinen, the topic of number 1 or 2 drivers was never needed because he wasn't worthy of a championship winning drive. To be fair though, Hamilton would probably be a 5 times WDC if Mercedes had given him number 1 status against Rosberg.
That sort of thing I would think. So the increase in his support is nothing to do with his celebrity then?
InductionRoar said:
LDN said:
the worldwide F1 fan base must all be sheep then - as Hamilton is by far the most popular driver worldwide. I've been at other races where, whilst not as extreme; Hamilton is by far the most represented driver; tshirts, flags, etc. Ecclestone said it himself. Can I ask; have you been to an F1 race? If so which ones?
Silverstone in 2008 and Hamilton was nowhere near as well represented as he is now. Same driver, what could have changed?
And Silverstone in 2008? Were you there? Were you there this year? Genuine question. I'd say he was EXTREMELY popular in '08, on the back of his rookie season in which he beat his world champion teammate. As far as things, to make a driver popular; that'll do it!
I guess you know more than Bernie: armchair fandom at its finest
InductionRoar said:
swisstoni said:
InductionRoar said:
Silverstone in 2008 and Hamilton was nowhere near as well represented as he is now. Same driver, what could have changed?
A glittering career ? If by glittering you mean successful then, yes I agree, which supports my previous point. The British love to support a proven commodity whereas, the Tifosi support "their" team regardless of the position they hold on track or the championship. Exciting drives? From pole and driving into the distance? I would personally say Alonso, Verstappen and Ricciardo have contributed more excitement than Hamilton, which considering the length of time Verstappen has been in the sport compared to Hamilton is telling. Most of Hamilton's exciting drives have involved collisions with other drivers (usually his teammate).
WDCs won without No2 teammates? In order to be designated a number 2 driver they must be of a similar skill level, otherwise they don't need such a distinction. Case in point is Kovaleinen, the topic of number 1 or 2 drivers was never needed because he wasn't worthy of a championship winning drive. To be fair though, Hamilton would probably be a 5 times WDC if Mercedes had given him number 1 status against Rosberg.
That sort of thing I would think. So the increase in his support is nothing to do with his celebrity then?
I think we're done here.Perhaps have a read of this - and then come back onto this thread, having done your homework:
https://willthef1journo.wordpress.com/2014/11/19/t...
LDN said:
I said 'worldwide' as in - if you tot up the support 'worldwide' - Hamitlon is as popular as the rest of the grid put together.
And Silverstone in 2008? Were you there? Were you there this year? Genuine question. I'd say he was EXTREMELY popular in '08, on the back of his rookie season in which he beat his world champion teammate. As far as things, to make a driver popular; that'll do it!
I guess you know more than Bernie: armchair fandom at its finest
Ah gotcha, we have moved on from British to worldwide fans to suit your statistical agenda. I have absolutely no doubt that Hamilton is by far the most popular driver under that set of parameters.And Silverstone in 2008? Were you there? Were you there this year? Genuine question. I'd say he was EXTREMELY popular in '08, on the back of his rookie season in which he beat his world champion teammate. As far as things, to make a driver popular; that'll do it!
I guess you know more than Bernie: armchair fandom at its finest
Of course I was there in 2008. Why would I lie on an internet forum? I got into F1 following a Renault demonstration day during the summer break in 2006 (I think) where they had Alonso's R25 doing some parade laps and the sound of the V10 made me a fan there and then. The first season of F1 that I watched from the outset was 2007 and I enjoyed it sufficiently to attend the Silverstone GP in 2008. When I turned up I heard the cars going around (practice session) and hoped sincerely that they were the GP2 cars. They weren't. I have therefore not felt the need to revisit the experience, so no, I didn't attend this year's GP.
I'm not saying he wasn't popular in 2008, of course he was, however there was a lot of support for other drivers too - such as Button. The British GP this year surely had the largest Hamilton fan base ever and I only see this increasing under the new liberty ownership.
Not sure why you are on the floor laughing but if you find my post amusing you should hear some of my jokes. What I personally find amusing is your attempt to denigrate my opinion as that of an "armchair fan". Unless you are involved in the racing of or building of F1 cars then you are an armchair fan, attending races just means your armchair is trackside rather than at home.
LDN said:
Hamilton's not had any exciting drives and only drives from pole into the distance... I think we're done here.
Perhaps have a read of this - and then come back onto this thread, having done your homework:
https://willthef1journo.wordpress.com/2014/11/19/t...
So you concede my other points have a thread of truth to them then? I think we're done here.Perhaps have a read of this - and then come back onto this thread, having done your homework:
https://willthef1journo.wordpress.com/2014/11/19/t...
Where did I say he has never had any exciting races? I said that I rate Alonso, Verstappen and Ricciardo higher on the excitement scale.
Hamilton has lead an awful lot of GPs from pole, which is not exciting to the "armchair fan". You seem to be more interested in his statistics than me so I bow to your superior knowledge.
By the way I am only commenting on his F1 career. I am not interested enough to start dissecting his karting or GP2 careers to support a tenuous statistical campaign.
InductionRoar said:
So you concede my other points have a thread of truth to them then?
Not one bit I'm afraid. Your points are silly at best. InductionRoar said:
so I bow to your superior knowledge.
Good lad.InductionRoar said:
I am not interested enough to start dissecting his karting or GP2 careers to support a tenuous statistical campaign.
Of course not; because that would make you look silly...Too late!
All jokes aside; Max is the only other driver I'm as excited about... and Hamilton-esque in his fearlessness and sheer driving nous. I'm a Ricciardo fan; but Max has that last nth'.
LDN said:
All jokes aside; Max is the only other driver I'm as excited about... and Hamilton-esque in his fearlessness and sheer driving nous. I'm a Ricciardo fan; but Max has that last nth'.
Max is the most exciting driver on the grid. Lewis is an exciting racer but does not often get chance to show his race-craft as he is out at the front leading (often from pole).
Is that a fair résumé?
InductionRoar said:
48Valves said:
One of the things that really supprised me at Silverstone last week was by just how many the people wearing Mercedes/Hamilton merchandise outnumbered not just the next popular team/driver, but all of the others combined.
Hardly surprising though is it? I personally don't see it as indicative of anything other than the sheep-like nature of the average British person. The British just love to be a part of something but often lack the requisite imagination and look to popular culture/social media for confirmation/acceptance.The same tribal dedication will be on show at Monza, however, they support Ferrari and their number 1 driver regardless of whether they are at the back of the grid or at the front. I doubt the British would show the same level of patriotism had their team or driver underperformed for 6 years - there have been numerous examples which prove this.
InductionRoar said:
Hardly surprising though is it? I personally don't see it as indicative of anything other than the sheep-like nature of the average British person. The British just love to be a part of something but often lack the requisite imagination and look to popular culture/social media for confirmation/acceptance.
The same tribal dedication will be on show at Monza, however, they support Ferrari and their number 1 driver regardless of whether they are at the back of the grid or at the front. I doubt the British would show the same level of patriotism had their team or driver underperformed for 6 years - there have been numerous examples which prove this.
Where can I find more of your narrative (or patronising and inaccurate bThe same tribal dedication will be on show at Monza, however, they support Ferrari and their number 1 driver regardless of whether they are at the back of the grid or at the front. I doubt the British would show the same level of patriotism had their team or driver underperformed for 6 years - there have been numerous examples which prove this.
ks) on British society? Could you do a paragraph on how the British love to build someone up and then rip them down please so we can flip between the two cliches depending on which load of nonsense needs to be pedalled at any given time?Gassing Station | Formula 1 | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff