When BBC's Lee McKenzie asked a disgruntled Lewis Hamilton 'why do you think you’re magnetic to the stewards?', I do not think anybody would have predicted his reply: "Maybe it’s ‘cos I’m black. (laughs) That’s what Ali G says! I don’t know.” Although it was meant rather tongue in cheek, those comments could have serious ramifications for the 2008 world champion. Clearly exasperated following a difficult weekend, Hamilton imploded in the post-race press conference. His emotions got the better of him and although he apologised to stewards for his remarks, one must feel it was not entirely voluntarily.
Hamilton had quite an eventful weekend. A disappointing qualifying session saw him start ninth and he was unable to make sufficient ground in the opening stages. After being held up by Michael Schumacher, the Mclaren driver then had to endure a slow pit stop which saw him drop further back. His frustrations were compounded when he became stuck behind Felipe Massa, a notoriously defensive driver.
On lap 35 he made a desperate move at the Loews hairpin and the two clashed. Hamilton got past the Brazilian in the tunnel and as Massa ran wide onto the marbles he slammed into the wall. Here is Hamilton's take on those events: "I was quite a lot quicker than Massa. I went up the inside and the guy turned so early and just, turned into me. And I tried to go over the kerb to avoid him and we’re stuck together. And of course I get the penalty, which is usual. He held me up in qualifying and I got the penalty. He turned into me and I got the penalty."
It is not the first time these two have collided on track. Their most notable coming together occurred in the 2008 Japanese Grand Prix, when the pair were fighting tooth and nail for the championship. Hamilton went up the inside of Massa into the chicane but the Ferrari would not give way and spun Hamilton around. Massa got a penalty for that collision yet still managed to finish seventh. The duo were also caught up in controversy at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix last season. During the qualifying session, Hamilton was forced to go over the kerb and hit a cone to avoid Massa on his flying lap. Is there any bad blood between them? Who knows, but although I believe Hamilton was at fault and deserving of his penalty yesterday I can understand where he is coming from.
On the first lap, Schumacher made a similar dive up the inside at Loews hairpin on Hamilton. Yes 'Schuey' caught the Brit unawares but he was given plenty of space. On the other hand on lap 24, Paul di Resta barged his way past Jaime Alguersuari and got a penalty for his actions. It takes two to tango and the driver in front must give room otherwise they are encouraging a collision. Having watched the incident a few times, Hamilton was driving into a disappearing wedge as Massa closed the door. But ask yourself this: why was Massa closing the door so abruptly? Because he ran out of road trying to pass Mark Webber in front of him. Massa made contact with Webber and that has gone unnoticed.
Hamilton got caught up in the incident which brought out the red flag but he was an innocent victim. He should pay immense tribute to his mechanics who pieced his rear wing together. His crazy race was not finished yet, though. He punted off Pastor Maldonado at St. Devote in a move which typified his weekend; a slower car was ahead of him and his frustrations boiled over. This is Hamilton's take on his clash with the Williams: "I went up the inside of Maldonado, and you can see on the screen he turned in a good car length too early to stop me from overtaking him and crashed into me. I mean, it’s just ridiculous. These drivers are absolutely frickin’ ridiculous. It’s stupid.”
For me, Hamilton should be fined for those closing two comments more so than his Ali G remarks. Both Massa and Maldonado are not stupid drivers and deserve their place in F1: Massa was runner up to Hamilton in 2008 and is unlucky not to be called a world champion, while Maldonado is the reigning GP2 champion. He made two over-optimistic manoeuvres and paid the penalty. I regard Hamilton as the fastest driver in F1, even ahead of Sebastian Vettel, and undoubtedly the greatest overtaker in the sport but he still has plenty to learn. He is just 26. He began the weekend hoping for a second Monaco victory and after his pace in practice it seemed a likely possibility. Hamilton adores the streets of Monte Carlo and his fearless nature befits this famous race track but the win slipped away from him in agonising fashion.
He would have been further exasperated by the news Vettel made it five wins out of six races this season to build up an almost unassailable 58 point lead in the championship. Hamilton is desperate to add to his 2008 title and it appears it will be the third consecutive year that Hamilton will end up empty handed. The margins are so fine in F1 that he could already be a triple world champion. Yet a champion must behave in a certain way and although I am pleased Hamilton's views are not of a corporate robot and one of a driver aghast at another title seemingly lost, he will look back on yesterday's words with a little regret. His comments smacked of petulance and immaturity, and I do not believe his outburst would have occurred had he still been managed by his father, Anthony. Granted, it was born out of frustration and totally out of character, but it was still unacceptable and he has brought the sport into disrepute.
Hamilton will be eager to make amends and he is fortunate that the next event is his favourite: Canada. He is unquestionably the master of Montreal having taken his debut win there in 2007 and was victorious last season, as well as taking pole in 2008 before crashing out in the pit lane. Hamilton has always bounced back from bitter disappointments and it would not surprise me to see him storm to victory in two weeks time. Boy does he need to.
Josh.
No comments:
Post a Comment