The Official Sir Lewis Hamilton thread

[aice]

Congratulations to Lewis Hamilton on bagging number 1 spot on Autosport’s list of top 50 drivers of 2015!

http://beta.autosport.com/top-50-drivers-of-2015/page/1

[mds]

Stopped reading at Ocon, placed #49.

[aice]

Stopped reading at Ocon, placed #49.

I'll let you into a little secret, i also stopped reading at 49 and went straight to number 1. For me, great to see driver 44 there

[pokerman]

Congratulations to Lewis Hamilton on bagging number 1 spot on Autosport’s list of top 50 drivers of 2015!

http://beta.autosport.com/top-50-drivers-of-2015/page/1

Good to see Lewis placed at #1 but to be honest I don't take much stock in such things

[aice]

Congratulations to Lewis Hamilton on bagging number 1 spot on Autosport’s list of top 50 drivers of 2015!

http://beta.autosport.com/top-50-drivers-of-2015/page/1

Good to see Lewis placed at #1 but to be honest I don't take much stock in such things

To be honest, neither do i. I think Lewis has topped a lot of polls this year and i agree, most are not worth shouting about. But Autosport are generally well regarded within the motor sport industry so in my books, it’s worth a mention. Arguably, the most coveted was the team bosses' vote. Good to see Lewis topping that one too. No harm in singing Lewis Hamilton’s praises on the Lewis Hamilton thread!

[pokerman]

Congratulations to Lewis Hamilton on bagging number 1 spot on Autosport’s list of top 50 drivers of 2015!

http://beta.autosport.com/top-50-drivers-of-2015/page/1

Good to see Lewis placed at #1 but to be honest I don't take much stock in such things

To be honest, neither do i. I think Lewis has topped a lot of polls this year and i agree, most are not worth shouting about. But Autosport are generally well regarded within the motor sport industry so in my books, it’s worth a mention. Arguably, the most coveted was the team bosses' vote. Good to see Lewis topping that one too. No harm in singing Lewis Hamilton’s praises on the Lewis Hamilton thread!

No it's just the comparing with drivers from different series, I just think it's an impossible thing to do, in particular the comparison with rallying which is like comparing chalk with cheese.

I see F1 as being the pinnacle so Lewis being voted #1 in that respect is fine, if however you think in terms of domination over other drivers then Ogier is more impressive in a discipline were the car is less of a factor.

[aice]

I see F1 as being the pinnacle so Lewis being voted #1 in that respect is fine,

Fair points regarding the difficulties in comparing different disciplines. But that bit of your comment that i have chosen to quote, is the main thing for me!

[Exediron]

I see F1 as being the pinnacle so Lewis being voted #1 in that respect is fine, if however you think in terms of domination over other drivers then Ogier is more impressive in a discipline were the car is less of a factor.

I think it's a bit of a stretch to say the car is less important in rallying; WRC tends to go from one manufacturer dominating to the next, just like F1. By that metric I think Vandoorne should be #1, since he legitimately dominated a spec series which I don't think anyone else can claim this year.

[pokerman]

I see F1 as being the pinnacle so Lewis being voted #1 in that respect is fine, if however you think in terms of domination over other drivers then Ogier is more impressive in a discipline were the car is less of a factor.

I think it's a bit of a stretch to say the car is less important in rallying; WRC tends to go from one manufacturer dominating to the next, just like F1. By that metric I think Vandoorne should be #1, since he legitimately dominated a spec series which I don't think anyone else can claim this year.

I think perhaps you don't really watch rallying if you think it's just another version of F1, I guess Citroen just happened to have the best car when Loeb won his 9 titles, then the moment he retired Citroen no longer had the best car because they could no longer win, that fell to VW with Ogier now winning all the titles, strange though that Loeb in a few guest appearances for Citroen was able to win a couple of rallys showing the likes of Meeke and Ostberg are really not quite good enough.

We shouldn't forget the year that Loeb and Ogier were teammates at Citroen Ogier was able to win rallys against him, and lets not also forget that Latvala his VW teammate is rated as one of the fastest rally drivers but just prone to crashing a bit too much.

Regarding Vandoorne do you consider the GP2 field of drivers to as good as the the F1 field of drivers?

[Exediron]

I think perhaps you don't really watch rallying if you think it's just another version of F1, I guess Citroen just happened to have the best car when Loeb won his 9 titles, then the moment he retired Citroen no longer had the best car because they could no longer win, that fell to VW with Ogier now winning all the titles, strange though that Loeb in a few guest appearances for Citroen was able to win a couple of rallys showing the likes of Meeke and Ostberg are really not quite good enough.

We shouldn't forget the year that Loeb and Ogier were teammates at Citroen Ogier was able to win rallys against him, and lets not also forget that Latvala his VW teammate is rated as one of the fastest rally drivers but just prone to crashing a bit too much.

You're right, I don't really watch rallying much at all - I personally find it boring. I have a few friends online who do, and they're always talking about this manufacturer or that manufacturer instead of the drivers so I assumed it was similar. If you say that's not the case, I admit I don't have the facts to dispute it.

Regarding Vandoorne do you consider the GP2 field of drivers to as good as the the F1 field of drivers?

Of course I don't. I was responding to this sentence:

if however you think in terms of domination over other drivers then Ogier is more impressive in a discipline were the car is less of a factor.

And pointing out that in a spec series such as GP2 the car is certainly less of a factor than F1 (and I strongly suspect rallying), and therefore Vandoorne's domination is more impressive. If Hamilton was able to dominate the F1 field in equal machinery it would unquestionably be the more impressive performance, but rather or not he could he'll never have the chance to try. He's dominated Nico, and that's not as easy to do as some people make it sound, but it's not the same thing as dominating the F1 field.

[pokerman]

I think perhaps you don't really watch rallying if you think it's just another version of F1, I guess Citroen just happened to have the best car when Loeb won his 9 titles, then the moment he retired Citroen no longer had the best car because they could no longer win, that fell to VW with Ogier now winning all the titles, strange though that Loeb in a few guest appearances for Citroen was able to win a couple of rallys showing the likes of Meeke and Ostberg are really not quite good enough.

We shouldn't forget the year that Loeb and Ogier were teammates at Citroen Ogier was able to win rallys against him, and lets not also forget that Latvala his VW teammate is rated as one of the fastest rally drivers but just prone to crashing a bit too much.

You're right, I don't really watch rallying much at all - I personally find it boring. I have a few friends online who do, and they're always talking about this manufacturer or that manufacturer instead of the drivers so I assumed it was similar. If you say that's not the case, I admit I don't have the facts to dispute it.

Regarding Vandoorne do you consider the GP2 field of drivers to as good as the the F1 field of drivers?

Of course I don't. I was responding to this sentence:

if however you think in terms of domination over other drivers then Ogier is more impressive in a discipline were the car is less of a factor.

And pointing out that in a spec series such as GP2 the car is certainly less of a factor than F1 (and I strongly suspect rallying), and therefore Vandoorne's domination is more impressive. If Hamilton was able to dominate the F1 field in equal machinery it would unquestionably be the more impressive performance, but rather or not he could he'll never have the chance to try. He's dominated Nico, and that's not as easy to do as some people make it sound, but it's not the same thing as dominating the F1 field.

I think you are missing the point that Ogier is competing against the best rally drivers in the world whereas Vandoorne is competing in a series which is not the pinnacle of the sport.

[aice]

Lewis reveals that he is dyslexic.

http://www.foxsports.com/motor/story/f1 ... ols-122115

[mcdo]

Lewis reveals that he is dyslexic.

http://www.foxsports.com/motor/story/f1 ... ols-122115

There's one comment at the bottom of that article that made me snort out loud in the office

I would imagine going over race reports and taking in all the data from this graph and that analysis is quite a job for someone who is dyslexic

[MistaVega23]

Lewis reveals that he is dyslexic.

http://www.foxsports.com/motor/story/f1 ... ols-122115

There's one comment at the bottom of that article that made me snort out loud in the office

I would imagine going over race reports and taking in all the data from this graph and that analysis is quite a job for someone who is dyslexic

Did anyone else think immediately of this?

[aice]

Lewis reveals that he is dyslexic.

http://www.foxsports.com/motor/story/f1 ... ols-122115

I would imagine going over race reports and taking in all the data from this graph and that analysis is quite a job for someone who is dyslexic

Indeed. In a strange way, it personally makes me more appreciative of all that Hamilton has achieved.

Interesting article here that explains how having dyslexia can sometimes contribute to success on track.

http://www.jamesallenonf1.com/2015/06/w ... champions/

[RaggedMan]

Lewis reveals that he is dyslexic.

http://www.foxsports.com/motor/story/f1 ... ols-122115

There's one comment at the bottom of that article that made me snort out loud in the office

I would imagine going over race reports and taking in all the data from this graph and that analysis is quite a job for someone who is dyslexic

Did anyone else think immediately of this?

Comments aren't showing for me. What was the comment? Did it have something to do with why he would've chosen the number 44?

[pokerman]

Lewis reveals that he is dyslexic.

http://www.foxsports.com/motor/story/f1 ... ols-122115

There's one comment at the bottom of that article that made me snort out loud in the office

I would imagine going over race reports and taking in all the data from this graph and that analysis is quite a job for someone who is dyslexic

I thought dyslexia was just word blindness and not related as such with dealing with data and numbers?

[RaggedMan]

Lewis reveals that he is dyslexic.

http://www.foxsports.com/motor/story/f1 ... ols-122115

There's one comment at the bottom of that article that made me snort out loud in the office

I would imagine going over race reports and taking in all the data from this graph and that analysis is quite a job for someone who is dyslexic

I thought dyslexia was just word blindness and not related as such with dealing with data and numbers?

There are different levels that it can effect someone and can manifest different ways in different people.

One of the most common ways it can show itself is as an inability to read characters in the proper order which would make studying race reports, and data sheets and graphs quite hard.

[mcdo]

Lewis reveals that he is dyslexic.

http://www.foxsports.com/motor/story/f1 ... ols-122115

There's one comment at the bottom of that article that made me snort out loud in the office

I would imagine going over race reports and taking in all the data from this graph and that analysis is quite a job for someone who is dyslexic

I thought dyslexia was just word blindness and not related as such with dealing with data and numbers?

There are different levels that it can effect someone and can manifest different ways in different people.

One of the most common ways it can show itself is as an inability to read characters in the proper order which would make studying race reports, and data sheets and graphs quite hard.

This is what I recall from a guy I went to school with. I would have thought numbers were no different to letters in this regard

[RaggedMan]

Lewis reveals that he is dyslexic.

http://www.foxsports.com/motor/story/f1 ... ols-122115

There's one comment at the bottom of that article that made me snort out loud in the office

I would imagine going over race reports and taking in all the data from this graph and that analysis is quite a job for someone who is dyslexic

I thought dyslexia was just word blindness and not related as such with dealing with data and numbers?

There are different levels that it can effect someone and can manifest different ways in different people.

One of the most common ways it can show itself is as an inability to read characters in the proper order which would make studying race reports, and data sheets and graphs quite hard.

This is what I recall from a guy I went to school with. I would have thought numbers were no different to letters in this regard

Yea, that's why I used 'characters' because it can be numbers or letters. I should've used difficulty instead of inability but from what I understand for some it's closer to the latter.

[mcdo]

There's one comment at the bottom of that article that made me snort out loud in the office

I would imagine going over race reports and taking in all the data from this graph and that analysis is quite a job for someone who is dyslexic

I thought dyslexia was just word blindness and not related as such with dealing with data and numbers?

There are different levels that it can effect someone and can manifest different ways in different people.

One of the most common ways it can show itself is as an inability to read characters in the proper order which would make studying race reports, and data sheets and graphs quite hard.

This is what I recall from a guy I went to school with. I would have thought numbers were no different to letters in this regard

Yea, that's why I used 'characters' because it can be numbers or letters. I should've used difficulty instead of inability but from what I understand for some it's closer to the latter.

Oh yeah I got ya, I was just kinda responding to you and pokerman

[pokerman]

There's one comment at the bottom of that article that made me snort out loud in the office

I would imagine going over race reports and taking in all the data from this graph and that analysis is quite a job for someone who is dyslexic

I thought dyslexia was just word blindness and not related as such with dealing with data and numbers?

There are different levels that it can effect someone and can manifest different ways in different people.

One of the most common ways it can show itself is as an inability to read characters in the proper order which would make studying race reports, and data sheets and graphs quite hard.

This is what I recall from a guy I went to school with. I would have thought numbers were no different to letters in this regard

Yea, that's why I used 'characters' because it can be numbers or letters. I should've used difficulty instead of inability but from what I understand for some it's closer to the latter.

Ok I didn't realise it included numbers as well

[aice]

Well done Lewis

http://www.sportingequals.org.uk/news-b ... olade.html

[Chunky]

This is what I recall from a guy I went to school with. I would have thought numbers were no different to letters in this regard

There's dyslexia which is difficulty with letters and dyscalculia which is a difficulty dealing with numbers and mathematics. There are shades of both, but some of the "number blind" people can read just fine.

Good on anyone in either category who make something out of themselves, large or small, despite the handicap. Some of the world's most famous success stories are dyslexic, like Branson for example.

.

[pokerman]

This is what I recall from a guy I went to school with. I would have thought numbers were no different to letters in this regard

There's dyslexia which is difficulty with letters and dyscalculia which is a difficulty dealing with numbers and mathematics. There are shades of both, but some of the "number blind" people can read just fine.

Good on anyone in either category who make something out of themselves, large or small, despite the handicap. Some of the world's most famous success stories are dyslexic, like Branson for example.

.

Oh right I did think that dyslexia related to just words.

[stevey]

Isn't it called discalculia if it's numbers.

[fieldstvl]

Speaking at the launch of Channel 4’s Formula 1 coverage, 13-time Grand Prix winner Coulthard said such distractions could allow Hamilton’s Mercedes team-mate, Nico Rosberg, to start where he left off last season – when the German won the final three races – and gain the upper hand in 2016.

‘Nico has been able to beat him, especially at the end of last season. Did Lewis mentally lift off? Is he only about championships or will he fight for every single victory? There were fewer questions about Senna, Prost, or Mansell. You knew they were going to fight for every single opportunity.

It's interesting how one driver can have a child - the biggest commitment it's possible to make in life, which takes the most time and energy away from everything else - and seemingly receives little to no sporting criticism for doing so. Yet another driver can have an active social life, with complete control over the timings and intensity of this social life, and his energy levels come into question.

The DM do point out later in the article that DC suspects Hamilton does have the requisite energy levels, but this does not detract from what is clearly the main thrust of the article. I suspect the main difference between Hamilton's social life and the social life of others drivers is nothing to do with how active or intense or time-consuming or energy-sapping it is, it is more that his friends are more 'high profile' and he plasters the whole thing across social media, so it's easier to criticise.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/formul ... thard.html

[mcdo]

Speaking at the launch of Channel 4’s Formula 1 coverage, 13-time Grand Prix winner Coulthard said such distractions could allow Hamilton’s Mercedes team-mate, Nico Rosberg, to start where he left off last season – when the German won the final three races – and gain the upper hand in 2016.

‘Nico has been able to beat him, especially at the end of last season. Did Lewis mentally lift off? Is he only about championships or will he fight for every single victory? There were fewer questions about Senna, Prost, or Mansell. You knew they were going to fight for every single opportunity.

It's interesting how one driver can have a child - the biggest commitment it's possible to make in life, which takes the most time and energy away from everything else - and seemingly receives little to no sporting criticism for doing so. Yet another driver can have an active social life, with complete control over the timings and intensity of this social life, and his energy levels come into question.

The DM do point out later in the article that DC suspects Hamilton does have the requisite energy levels, but this does not detract from what is clearly the main thrust of the article. I suspect the main difference between Hamilton's social life and the social life of others drivers is nothing to do with how active or intense or time-consuming or energy-sapping it is, it is more that his friends are more 'high profile' and he plasters the whole thing across social media, so it's easier to criticise.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/formul ... thard.html

I think if James Hunt is admired for it then Lewis should be left alone. But I guess if Lewis were to lose out to Nico this year, that will be the explanation

[RaggedMan]

Speaking at the launch of Channel 4’s Formula 1 coverage, 13-time Grand Prix winner Coulthard said such distractions could allow Hamilton’s Mercedes team-mate, Nico Rosberg, to start where he left off last season – when the German won the final three races – and gain the upper hand in 2016.

‘Nico has been able to beat him, especially at the end of last season. Did Lewis mentally lift off? Is he only about championships or will he fight for every single victory? There were fewer questions about Senna, Prost, or Mansell. You knew they were going to fight for every single opportunity.

It's interesting how one driver can have a child - the biggest commitment it's possible to make in life, which takes the most time and energy away from everything else - and seemingly receives little to no sporting criticism for doing so. Yet another driver can have an active social life, with complete control over the timings and intensity of this social life, and his energy levels come into question.

The DM do point out later in the article that DC suspects Hamilton does have the requisite energy levels, but this does not detract from what is clearly the main thrust of the article. I suspect the main difference between Hamilton's social life and the social life of others drivers is nothing to do with how active or intense or time-consuming or energy-sapping it is, it is more that his friends are more 'high profile' and he plasters the whole thing across social media, so it's easier to criticise.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/formul ... thard.html

While I think too much is made of Hamilton's lifestyle I think you're putting too much into the comparison.

Nico isn't a single parent who has to drop his child off at the paddock day care before going to work. He has a partner who takes primary responsibility for the day to day raising of the child, and does what he can during the off season and other down times between races.

When there's a 2 week gap and Hamilton goes from a race in Asia, to a premier in LA, to a fashion show in New York, before heading to the next race is when the criticism comes mostly. Apples and oranges.

[Asphalt_World]

Some will overreact about this, but certainly not the brightest thing to say!

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/formula-1/20 ... n-culture/

[Aspar]

I was wondering what was going on with LH and the poor starts he is having. So far, he has lost 17 points to Rosberg in races in which he should have had a walk in the park, starting from first and finishing without problems.
I thought he was just having a bad start of the season, but then read that it was actually a problem in the clutch and it might not be fixed for China.
Here is what Toto siad:

Wolff, the head of Mercedes motorsport, said: "We tend to believe it is more a hardware issue than a control electronics problem. You can't solve that from one race to the other.

"We are working to sort it out. The way we assess clutches and the way we round them, the way we calibrate them. Obviously how the driver uses it needs to be optimised.

"But mainly the collaboration with Daimler is about optimising the hardware. That takes a little bit of time. When we will have results I am not sure yet."

So far LH hasn't been harsh to the team for not providing him with what he obviously needs. Good that Merc aknowledge the problem, but i am starting to ask, why didn't they sort it out before the season start? Don't wanna put a tinfoil hat on, but is this the only way Merc can make a German pilot a champ, in probably the last year of their dominance?

[Zoue]

I was wondering what was going on with LH and the poor starts he is having. So far, he has lost 17 points to Rosberg in races in which he should have had a walk in the park, starting from first and finishing without problems.
I thought he was just having a bad start of the season, but then read that it was actually a problem in the clutch and it might not be fixed for China.
Here is what Toto siad:

Wolff, the head of Mercedes motorsport, said: "We tend to believe it is more a hardware issue than a control electronics problem. You can't solve that from one race to the other.

"We are working to sort it out. The way we assess clutches and the way we round them, the way we calibrate them. Obviously how the driver uses it needs to be optimised.

"But mainly the collaboration with Daimler is about optimising the hardware. That takes a little bit of time. When we will have results I am not sure yet."

So far LH hasn't been harsh to the team for not providing him with what he obviously needs. Good that Merc aknowledge the problem, but i am starting to ask, why didn't they sort it out before the season start? Don't wanna put a tinfoil hat on, but is this the only way Merc can make a German pilot a champ, in probably the last year of their dominance?

Except both Lewis and Nico had poor starts in Oz, so that doesn't quite wash.

It's early days. Lewis didn't get it right on Sunday, but there again Kimi fluffed his, too, and his was near flawless in Oz. I think it's too early to start worrying excessively.

[aice]

I was wondering what was going on with LH and the poor starts he is having. So far, he has lost 17 points to Rosberg in races in which he should have had a walk in the park, starting from first and finishing without problems.
I thought he was just having a bad start of the season, but then read that it was actually a problem in the clutch and it might not be fixed for China.
Here is what Toto siad:

Wolff, the head of Mercedes motorsport, said: "We tend to believe it is more a hardware issue than a control electronics problem. You can't solve that from one race to the other.

"We are working to sort it out. The way we assess clutches and the way we round them, the way we calibrate them. Obviously how the driver uses it needs to be optimised.

"But mainly the collaboration with Daimler is about optimising the hardware. That takes a little bit of time. When we will have results I am not sure yet."

So far LH hasn't been harsh to the team for not providing him with what he obviously needs. Good that Merc aknowledge the problem, but i am starting to ask, why didn't they sort it out before the season start? Don't wanna put a tinfoil hat on, but is this the only way Merc can make a German pilot a champ, in probably the last year of their dominance?

I wasn't aware of this statement from Toto. Actually, on reflection, post-race, Lewis seemed to allude to this. When asked about his poor starts he said he wasn't overly worried and that "they should have it fixed by China"? If the problem is something beyond Lewis's control, Mercedes need to fix it quickly. These poor starts are compromising Lewis's chances. I know there's a long way to go in the the season but it's something they need to assess and rectify - pronto!

[sandman1347]

I was wondering what was going on with LH and the poor starts he is having. So far, he has lost 17 points to Rosberg in races in which he should have had a walk in the park, starting from first and finishing without problems.
I thought he was just having a bad start of the season, but then read that it was actually a problem in the clutch and it might not be fixed for China.
Here is what Toto siad:

Wolff, the head of Mercedes motorsport, said: "We tend to believe it is more a hardware issue than a control electronics problem. You can't solve that from one race to the other.

"We are working to sort it out. The way we assess clutches and the way we round them, the way we calibrate them. Obviously how the driver uses it needs to be optimised.

"But mainly the collaboration with Daimler is about optimising the hardware. That takes a little bit of time. When we will have results I am not sure yet."

So far LH hasn't been harsh to the team for not providing him with what he obviously needs. Good that Merc aknowledge the problem, but i am starting to ask, why didn't they sort it out before the season start? Don't wanna put a tinfoil hat on, but is this the only way Merc can make a German pilot a champ, in probably the last year of their dominance?

Except both Lewis and Nico had poor starts in Oz, so that doesn't quite wash.

It's early days. Lewis didn't get it right on Sunday, but there again Kimi fluffed his, too, and his was near flawless in Oz. I think it's too early to start worrying excessively.

Overall I agree but if he has another bad start the next time out that would simply be unacceptable for all involved. This problem cannot be allowed to linger.

[ob1kenobi.23]

Lewis to take a 5 place grid penalty due to a gear box change at the Chinese GP.

http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-motor- ... KKCN0XB01R

[pokerman]

Lewis to take a 5 place grid penalty due to a gear box change at the Chinese GP.

http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-motor- ... KKCN0XB01R

I wonder if it got damaged when Bottas hit him?

[stevey]

That or they realised his clutch is causing his bad starts and have used the crash as an excuse to swap it out.

[JohnnyGuitar]

Lewis to take a 5 place grid penalty due to a gear box change at the Chinese GP.

http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-motor- ... KKCN0XB01R

I wonder if it got damaged when Bottas hit him?

No it got damaged when Bernie sneaked into the Merc garage.

[Lt. Drebin]

That or they realised his clutch is causing his bad starts and have used the crash as an excuse to swap it out.

Is the clutch not replaceable without penalty?

[Asphalt_World]

Lewis to take a 5 place grid penalty due to a gear box change at the Chinese GP.

http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-motor- ... KKCN0XB01R

I wonder if it got damaged when Bottas hit him?

Sorry to spoil you Christmas....

Mercedes also revealed that the damage to the gearbox was not the result of his accident with Valtteri Bottas at Turn 1.