MASTERY IN MONACO
"IT'S A BADGE OF HONOUR. IF YOU DON'T COME OFF THIS TRACK WITH PAINT ON YOUR TYRES YOU HAVEN'T TRIED HARD ENOUGH." MARTIN BRUNDLE
Is anyone else getting a little tiny bit tired of the Lewis Hamilton post-race persona? It’s that meeting-the-parents, slimy kind of maturity that just seems to rub me up the wrong way. The faultless analysis of his pit strategy, the holier than thou praise for his team, the underlying arrogance that makes Formula 1 racing about him and no one else. Media sentiment is still very much on his side and, in spite of my bitter undertones suggesting that this has all gone to his head, so it should be.
His win at Monaco this weekend was about seizing chances. He took Brundle’s advice and got paint on his tyre, unfortunately he got wall on it too and the resulting puncture could have ended his race. Hamilton and Maclaren turned it into an opportunity though. Within seconds they had changed to a 1-stop strategy, refuelled for the whole race, replaced the flat tyre and got their boy back on the track. The outcome? A precious win in Monaco - the jewel in the F1 crown.
I have concluded that I must suspend my resentment of Hamilton’s over-consummate professionalism. It’s not hopping on the bandwagon to acknowledge the bottom line with him - that he is already a legend of motorsport. Hamilton sees things others don’t. He dares where others falter. Out-braking, out-maneuvering, out-running and out-scrapping his way to the front. That kind of talent and determination should be put on a pedestal and praised till the cows come home. If he never wins a championship, though, he’ll be fair game.
I have concluded that I must suspend my resentment of Hamilton’s over-consummate professionalism. It’s not hopping on the bandwagon to acknowledge the bottom line with him - that he is already a legend of motorsport. Hamilton sees things others don’t. He dares where others falter. Out-braking, out-maneuvering, out-running and out-scrapping his way to the front. That kind of talent and determination should be put on a pedestal and praised till the cows come home. If he never wins a championship, though, he’ll be fair game.
