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https://www.mercedesamgf1.com/en/mercede...JJJ9_sfIbk
He actually asked to do testing. He normally asks not to do it. In winter testing he was more engaged than ever as well. I have to say I actually like seeing him willing to out a decent shift of work in, almost makes me a fan. Almost.
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(06-04-2019, 08:41 AM)Jody Barton Wrote: https://www.mercedesamgf1.com/en/mercede...JJJ9_sfIbk
He actually asked to do testing. He normally asks not to do it. In winter testing he was more engaged than ever as well. I have to say I actually like seeing him willing to out a decent shift of work in, almost makes me a fan. Almost.
Seriously? How can any Brit not be a fan? And I'm only talking about driving here, not the other nonesense.
Regarding him wanting to do the Bahrain in season test, it was mentioned in a Sky Sport interview during Bahrain race weekend and is clearly because he (and Mercedes) know they have the tightest of battles on their hands this year. Ham has always said he doesn't enjoy testing but he isn't stupid. It is clear already that 2019 is going to be a titatnic development war and he wants to give his own feedback.
People used to say Hamilton couldn't develop a car he could only drive one. I've always thought that was tosh.
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You see, I don't see admiring someones ability as making you a fan. I for instance am not happy just because Lewis won a race, irregardless of circumstances, nor am I unhappy when he doesn't win a race. to be honest with you I'm not fazed either way where Lewis is concerned. I admire his talent and think he's the best driver on the grid, but honestly I've never warmed to him. I always felt he was far too PR polished, a bit like Russell and Norris honestly, they both seem a little dull, Lewis never seemed dull to me, he just often came across as fake. As he's got older though and learned not to give two shits what people think about him he's become more honest and mellow. So I have warmed to him, but I'm not quite a fan. Probably never will be, but I don't hate him either, and when he puts in a damn fine drive I say so and admire it for what it is.
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(06-04-2019, 04:43 PM)Jody Barton Wrote: So I have warmed to him, but I'm not quite a fan. Probably never will be, but I don't hate him either, and when he puts in a damn fine drive I say so and admire it for what it is.
Fair play.
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(06-04-2019, 05:00 PM)morini Wrote: (06-04-2019, 04:43 PM)Jody Barton Wrote: So I have warmed to him, but I'm not quite a fan. Probably never will be, but I don't hate him either, and when he puts in a damn fine drive I say so and admire it for what it is.
Fair play.
I don't follow the guys every move and I certainly don't identify with his image. Media whore as Forza put it in another thread is pretty accurate. Maybe I'm not a "fan" either in all truth. However, I love watching him drive and will always support a British driver even if don't particularly like his personality. I understand patriotism, I am of that era too.
There’s room for admiration outside of UK drivers. I thought Alain Prost was the consummate "thinking driver" and he is one of my favourites in terms of my own admiration, he maybe wasn't as outright fast as some of his contemporaries but he really knew how to bring home trophies. I see glimpses of special things in Charles LeClerc and Max Verstappen and is what keeps me watching the sport. But if George Russell and Lando Norris are competing against them I know who I will give my support to and be cheering on. Who's to say all those guys won't develop into media whores as well? I guess they all need to maximise their income in the relatively short window they have at the top? Bit like the football fairies do. I hate football and the elite players are the very definiion of "media whore".
When I look fast, I'm not smooth and I am going slowly. And when I look slow, I am smooth and going fast.
(This post was last modified: 06-04-2019, 06:08 PM by
The Professor.)
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I am big Hamilton fan but not to the exclusion of any driver no matter where they are from. I have said on these boards many times even the worst driver in F1 is hugely talented and that does include the pay to drive guys too.
The changes in Hamilton over the years are to me simply a person maturing as (hopefully) we all do as we get older. I have an immense amount of respect for him and his family. To come from where he did to where he has ended up is a massive success story and deserves acknowledgment whether you love or hate him.
As regards the comment on his car development I think he found those skills and honed them enormously over the last 5/6 years and I put a large part of that down to the influence of Nico Rosberg. To me Hamilton was always quicker than Rosberg (in general terms) but Rosberg was a better technician and that I feel forced Hamilton more than ever to change his approach.
I too follow the British Drivers love em or hate em (Rare) Patriotism is alive and well in me and more so now I live in the USA where I can turn my nose up at the Americans!
Talking of great technical drivers this thread is enlightening I mean who knew the Professor was a big Alain Prost fan!!!!!
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NeilP.)
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I think the idea that Lewis somehow wasn't a technician has been blown out of the water by comments Button made about their time together at McLaren. Button described him as being very focused on the detail, and a sponge when it came to technical information. Rosberg also blew that theory out of the water recently when he said he followed Lewis' set ups more than Lewis followed his, and that Lewis had a phenomenal brain for F1. Ant Davidson also said that he spends "a lot more time in the simulator than you'd think". I have no doubt he's got better at it, and learned from many if his team mates, but I think there is evidence he had that ability right from the start when racing alongside Alonso, there were a number of times where Alonso bemoaned the fact that Lewis had got the set up right for qualifying... and trust me, there aren't many drivers who got the better of Alonso on set up at all.
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(07-04-2019, 08:11 AM)Jody Barton Wrote: I think the idea that Lewis somehow wasn't a technician has been blown out of the water by comments Button made about their time together at McLaren. Button described him as being very focused on the detail, and a sponge when it came to technical information. Rosberg also blew that theory out of the water recently when he said he followed Lewis' set ups more than Lewis followed his, and that Lewis had a phenomenal brain for F1. Ant Davidson also said that he spends "a lot more time in the simulator than you'd think". I have no doubt he's got better at it, and learned from many if his team mates, but I think there is evidence he had that ability right from the start when racing alongside Alonso, there were a number of times where Alonso bemoaned the fact that Lewis had got the set up right for qualifying... and trust me, there aren't many drivers who got the better of Alonso on set up at all.
Thanks for setting me right Jody.
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(07-04-2019, 08:11 AM)Jody Barton Wrote: there were a number of times where Alonso bemoaned the fact that Lewis had got the set up right for qualifying...
And add in the factor that Hamilton can (nearly) always drag some sort of a decent time out of whatever setup he's got under him. There are obviously exceptions to that as we've all seen the odd really bad qualy session from Lewis (particularly 2015 where auite a few of his qualy performances were flaky IMO) . But generally speaking the bloke usually gets close to the max out of his car when it matters during qualifying. The two of his records which impress me most are "at least one win in every season" and "at least one pole postion in every season". They are solid records and wil be hard to match for the new breed of superstars.
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(06-04-2019, 09:22 AM)morini Wrote: (06-04-2019, 08:41 AM)Jody Barton Wrote: https://www.mercedesamgf1.com/en/mercede...JJJ9_sfIbk
He actually asked to do testing. He normally asks not to do it. In winter testing he was more engaged than ever as well. I have to say I actually like seeing him willing to out a decent shift of work in, almost makes me a fan. Almost.
Seriously? How can any Brit not be a fan? And I'm only talking about driving here, not the other nonesense.
Regarding him wanting to do the Bahrain in season test, it was mentioned in a Sky Sport interview during Bahrain race weekend and is clearly because he (and Mercedes) know they have the tightest of battles on their hands this year. Ham has always said he doesn't enjoy testing but he isn't stupid. It is clear already that 2019 is going to be a titatnic development war and he wants to give his own feedback.
People used to say Hamilton couldn't develop a car he could only drive one. I've always thought that was tosh.
Seriously? How can any Brit not be a fan?
Sorry, but I'm British and not a fan. I can appreciate that Lewis is one of the best drivers at present, but I don't support ppl just because they happen to have been born in the same country as me. Over the years I have supported British drivers, but I have also supported drivers from other countries, often when there have been British drivers around as well. For me, I support a driver because I like the way he drives (of course!), but its also about more than that - something about that particular driver that speaks to me if you like. In the end, for me, where a driver comes from is pretty low down the list. But then I'm not particularly patriotic, so perhaps thats the reason.