Oh Lewis, What Have You Done

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Saturday 30th August 2008

There is an unwritten rule in F1 which goes along the lines of 'do not compare yourself to Michael Schumacher unless you wish to be mocked'. Sadly Lewis Hamilton doesn't appear to have read that one...

Send us your views to: letters@planet-f1.com

The Ego Has Landed

Ron Dennis should step up like a qualified boss should be and have his "employee" put a sock in it.

Lewis seems to have a problem with "foot in mouth disease", I hope Ferrari continue to make him look silly like the start of the Hungarian GP... what was it you said about you and your opponents abilities?

How quickly he forgets or perhaps he is a "slow" learner (remember who lost the championship last year). Do us all a favor and do what they pay you to do... shut up and drive.
Gary Wagner, Washington, USA

...Another race weekend, and yet another stupid comment from the witless wonder that is Lewis Hamilton.

"I'm no No 2, whoever you put me next to - even Michael Schumacher."

Lets see... 7 times world champion that broke more records than any other driver, scored more points, more wins, more podiums and more pole positions.

Hamilton has problems driving his car without destroying his tyres in the process, to the extent that earlier this season Bridgestone advised McLaren / Hamilton to make an extra pit stop because they didn't think the tyres would last due to his driving style. I don't remember Schumacher having to do this. Similarly I don't remember Schumacher driving into someone in the pit lane either.

I have no doubt in my mind that Schumacher would beat Hamilton on the track, just a shame Hammy / plastic boy isn't racing at the race of champions this year then we would know for sure who is better - mind you... Race of "Champions" says it all.... Grow up Lewis... and shave those damn sideburns too..
Jason Garbutt, Romford, UK

...Who does Lewis Hamilton thin he is?? How dare he compare himself to Michael Schumacher! Let him win something first before mouthing off, there are far better drivers on the grid than him!!!
Christopher Williams

...Just when LH draws some sympathy in Valencia after accepting defeat, he has to open his mouth again to say something stupid.

Funnily enough, Lewis could have raced Schumi on the last GPs of 2006, but Ron Dennis thought it could break Lewis' confidence.

Felipe Massa HAS raced Michael Schumacher and got the better of him in few occasions, even while having the Number 2 label.

And he has remained humble, that is something for LH to learn.
Tulio, London

...Michael! Please come out of retirement and shut this arrogant, bigheaded boy up, for the sake of all of us who have to listen to this rubbish everyday!
Chetna Vara

..."I'm no No 2, whoever you put me next to - even Michael Schumacher."

Seriously; this guy has an ego of a mountain that'll take him to lowest of lows. In my humble opinion, he's no way near to be Schumi's no 2 or 3 or even a million.

I am not discounting his efforts, but history only remembers champions, and he is not because he just doesn't fit the bill of a one.

A champion would be rather modest, humble while pulling out the heroics in the circuit and won't copy he team-mate settings in his rookie season and comes out and say "'Hang on, I'm no No 2". Of-course you're No 2 for Alonso dude.

Personal advice for Hamilton: "Get a life".
Mahmood, NY

Oh Kimi
We had a bet on before the European GP for which lap Kimi would wake up and start putting in hot-laps far too late to have any impact, but to save him from a thorough slagging off in the post-race review.

As James Allen put it, "Sixteen laps to go here at Valencia, and Kimi Raikkonen has woken up...".

I'm just getting a little bit tired of Kimi being so disappointing - the man is meant to be defending a World title and supposedly is the fastest raw driver on the grid.

Wake up, Kimi!
Stuart Taylor, London, UK

Move On And Let Go
Alright that's enough. If I hear one more person whinge about Massa's pit lane penalty (or lack thereof) I think I might puke.

First of all can anyone provide any occasion when cars being released side by side had ever been an issue before? Cars have been being released like that ever since pit lanes were made wide enough allow it. I cannot blame people for feeling there is a slight Ferrari bias in F1 as during the Schumi/Todt/Brawn days it was pretty blatant, such as Michael exiting pit lane in Canada and slotting in at the head of the queue and that BS Silverstone win from the pits - I could go on. But in this case I can't see anything but anti-Ferrari sentiment if anything. There should have been no investigation and no fine.

As for those mentioning racism it is time to grow up. Hamilton is a superstar and whether or not he likes to admit it being black and being so successful has drawn in a whole new audience to F1. In a time when the FIA is trying to take the sport more global with races in Bahrain, China etc Hamilton is a godsend for them. They will help him all they possibly can - although he is in a McLaren.

But while we are on the subject of favouritism does it seem slightly odd to anyone else that during an engine freeze all of a sudden Ferrari have more horsepower and worse reliability? That suggests an engine modification to me. Maybe the FIA should forget this pit lane rubbish and have a good hard look at some engine specs...
Edward Foster

As For Claims Of Favouritism
To all of you who claim that Ferrari are favoured by the stewards above all other teams, especially McLaren: remember that the GPMA was threatening a breakaway series over funding from TV rights and McLaren-Mercedes was part of that. At the time Ferrari pledged their allegiance to F1 and it would appear that this has something to do with how they are treated.

You looked after us, we'll now look after you.

However, after Valencia, even though I have been a Ferrari fan for 30 years I have to say I think they need a 2 race ban for having an unsafe pit setup. No matter how good a semi-autonomous system is, it cannot replace the common sense of a man facing his car and looking down the pit lane.

Long live the lollipop man!
Pete, London

Which Leads To Comments On Sir Jackie

I have much respect for Jackie Stewart's accomplishments as a driver, but as a commentator on the sport he has become increasingly blinkered and biased, and thus, at times, it is difficult to take his comments seriously; especially his comments regarding Ferrari or their drivers.

Have you ever known Stewart to say anything positive about them?
Hemant Mistry

...Surprise, surprise, Jackie Stewart has another view on another topic from F1... Ok he used to be a World Champion F1 driver, but as he said "Retired" comes to mind.

The people who make the decisions are the ones currently working in F1, not some previous hasbeens that keep sticking the oars in when they feel the need for a bit of publicity.

Massa was indeed let out early from his pit stop and backed off towards the end of the pit lane, which to be fair is a very sensible thing to do and have the foresight of what was going on around him.

Rewind to Canada... Hamilton fiddling with something in his cockpit manages to totally destroy two other cars obeying the rules - shame he didn't have the experience / foresight to pay attention to where his car was pointing.

There will always be "favoritism" allegations going around and time and time again there is no real evidence. I suggest that until there is hard evidence (ie print outs aka McLaren spy gate scandal) then everyone should keep their thought to themselves.
Jason Garbutt, Romford

A Bit Of This & A Bit Of That
Firstly, I am not a Lewis Hamilton fan, I am and will always be a Ferrari fan!!

That said, we need to give credit when it is due, and stop lambasting when we feel that we have been offended.

Massa backed off and correctly let Sutil go ahead, Sutil having already been in the driving lane, and even though Massa believes that He should have been let through, he did the right thing. Hence the team got a nominal fine.

You cannot compare it to Hamilton driving into Raikkonen.

Kimi, you really should pay attention to the electronic lollipop... for the money you get paid, one would expect nothing less than perfection, and this was a definite blemish!

To the race stewards, one word - consistency. You are either consistently wrong, or consistently right. Choose please!

Our dear ITV commentators.... Actually, you are what are termed motoring journalists, and as such have a responsibility to your listeners/viewers/readers to be impartial, accurate and fair.

Lewis has you all in a titter, so when he actually does something we do not mind you squealing away like a pair of juvenile schoolgirls, and about Jenson, please remind me when he really did something to justify his superstar status. Clearly, according to the commentary you deliver, if you are not British then one cannot expect two cents worth of positive commentary from you. Honestly, I look forward to NOT having to listen to you, although I do admit that your knowledge of the F1 circus is really awesome.

Lastly, to the FIA, please let F1 return to being a performance driven sport. That means, decide on one set of rules, and let the participants get on with it. Stop limiting things, you are killing the sport. If McLaren can develop an engine that is 50Hp better than Ferrari, and it leads to overtaking and incident, then hooray!

At the moment A1GP is more fun, they have standardized systems, chassis, engines and whatnot, and there is tons of interest, incident and, yes, overtaking.

F1 is not A1, yet A1 is currently far more interesting, and now with Ferrari engines (bless those coordinators for deciding on this) more power, more speed, more fun. Do we really need F1 to become a richer version of A1?

My suggestions for change? What do I know, I am just a fan..... you never listen to us anyway.
Ian, South Africa

Rumours And Statements
Good old Ron. Just when he got everyone to forget about last year's mess and focus on Ferrari's problems, he goes and make a statement that most likely will see him travel in the UK with an army of bodyguards.

We shouldn't take his comments out of context though. Silverstone is part of the F1 fabric, an institution, part of tradition. What it isn't is up to scratch. Yes Spa and Monza lack in the same areas as Silverstone (in terms of infrastructure) but those tracks weren't pleaded with to better themselves. Bernie spoke nicely, asked nicely and even threatened the Silverstone bosses to better the circuit - he did so for years. Valencia promised to have everything needed in place in what seemed like too little time, and they did. The difference? Government backing.

Alonso's employer for 2009 is still an uncertainty. Even if rumours place the Spaniard with Honda for one year and at Ferrari from 2010, the questions into the validity of such claims remain questionable. Why? Let's take a look at possible scenarios.

1.) Alonso stays with Renault for one more year. Renault gets the measure of the 2009 rules and take a title. Will Alonso leave if the car can perform to his liking?

2.) Alonso moves to Honda. Only one year? Will the team allow him to get close to privileged information and materials? Will he go to Ferrari if he wins a title with Honda?

The scary part of Alonso going to Honda is that it is possible for Honda to get podium finishes with Alonso...

3.) Alonso makes his move and Kimi calls it quits at end of this season. Who will race for Ferrari? Michael? (I can only dream!)

4.) The most interesting scenario considering the current atmosphere within Ferrari points to Kimi leaving end of this season. Alonso made comments on him announcing his future team after the Italian GP, which is traditionally when Ferrari announce their line-up for the next season. Kimi is facing a difficult time within Ferrari. Knocking over a member of his pitcrew didn't help his cause. Ferrari's approach to Kimi's engine failure could be used as a thermometer to determine the feelings within the team towards their defending champion - Massa's failure was a crisis, Kimi's was expected (the tone of the comments by Ferrari pointing to the failure being anticipated...).

It is possible, and even plausible, that Kimi could leave F1 at the end of the current season.

With the F1 drivers' market revolving around Alonso we got another little twist in the story - Robert Kubica. Getting his contract to run till end of 2009 he seems to be aiming for the same seat as Alonso. The chances of Alonso and Kubica being team mates might be very exciting, but is very unlikely. Massa will stay at Ferrari for a long time.

Kubica can however be the driver to pip Alonso to a Ferrari seat - Alonso's jumping from contract to contract is likely to see him end 2009 with 4 team in 4 years, Robert sees the end of his contracts. Ferrari needs a team player, if all goes well Alonso stands tall within the team, if things go wrong it seems Alonso's feet get itchy.

For certain Alonso is a mighty driver, he did manage to race Michael and beat him. He beat Kimi, Lewis and Massa.

All Alonso needs is a team that can give him the car he needs to win and to support him. If he can get the slowest car on the grid to perform well imagine what he'll do with a Ferrari...

With uncle Ron with his foot in his mouth, uncle Bernie counting all his wonderful money from Valencia and a smiling Brazilian we head to the streets of Singapore. F1's first night race. Can't wait!
Chris van Wyk, South Africa

Pondering Vettel's Move
Vettel has been promoted to the senior Red Bull team for 2009 but if the Toro Rosso is the faster of the two cars... is it still a promotion or a demotion? He needs to leave that team altogether and get with a contender.
Mike, Canada