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The 2020 F1 Season

I was there at Donington. One the outside of the Old Hairpin. All I remember was that it was bloody cold.

People forget, but in just his second season Hamilton won in the wet at Silverstone by over a minute - lapping everyone other than the two other podium sharers.

At times he was lapping 5-6 seconds a lap faster than the others!
 
Senna was a genius. From his battles with Brundle in the Banerj Ralt F3 it was clear the guy was special. Did he have the consistency though, or the ability to not overdrive in the pursuit of victory. I'm not sure. I remember the drive at Monaco in the hideous Toleman but there was also a mental aspect that it seemed Prost in particular was able to exploit.

For me, in my lifetime, the two drivers who possessed it all (more of less) were Schumacher and Hamilton. I don't see the others coming close. Maybe in one area. Outright pace. Overtaking prowess.Working with their engineers. As a whole though? No. Not in my book. We should value Hamilton. He will be gone soon. He is the greatest British sportsman of my life time. If he had been driving that Ferrari last year he would most likely have won the World Driver's Championship.

I think it's very difficult to define 'best'. If you are talking about raw speed in any car then Senna, Clark or Hamilton would be my choices. If you are talking about application, professionalism and dedication then Schumacher, Stewart and Prost would be my choices. An engineer at Mercedes once said to me that if Hamilton had Schumacher's 100% focus and dedication he would easily be the greatest of all time by some margin and he had worked with both of them. I do agree that we should value and enjoy what Hamilton does on the track as soon he will have retired and many will only miss him when he's gone.... the fact that Sir Andy Murray seems to garner more plaudits and interest in the UK than a British sportsman who is arguably the best in his field there has ever been boils my piss!
 
I do wonder if he will want to test himself one last time against a member of the next generation.

Whether the fighter in him would like to go head to head against one of the upcoming generation of superstars. None of the current generation had an answer.
 
I do wonder if he will want to test himself one last time against a member of the next generation.

Whether the fighter in him would like to go head to head against one of the upcoming generation of superstars. None of the current generation had an answer.

Of the current up & comers I think it’s only Mad Max who could Lewis a proper run for his money. He’s got that ruthless streak and is as quick as they come. He’s also maturing bar that dumb moment when he admitted to not lifting under yellow flags in qualifying. Can’t remember the race but he’ll learn from it.
 
I can imagine a decade or so of battles between Verstappen and LeClerc - plus I would expect one other to join them.

I don't follow the sport well enough now to know who but you don't HAVE to still be in your teens when you reach F1 to master the art IMHO.
 
There can surely be no possible reason other than inherent racism in society Tony? I wish I could think of one but Hamilton is a model sportsman, the most successful Britain has produced in a generation, and has shown commitment and exemplary behaviour since childhood.
 
Any clues as to which parts of those links you’re referring to?

Well I like Hamilton, did not always but I am impressed by him now, so let me state that right at the start.

However if you read those links, and the content is correct, then both are British and sports people, however one stays in Britain and pays their taxes here the other does not and appears not to wish to stay in Britain after he ends his career in sports.

Therefore for the establishment I would think that is a red flag to them, however that may not be the case.

I am making no issue on their ability as sports persons, I think they both give a huge amount of pleasure to the British public and both support Britain in different ways.

I still don't understand why David Beckham has not been honoured more either as he seems to be a big supporter of Britain as well, am sure we will never really understand the reasons behind issues like this.
 
Perhaps the one slap on the back will do for now, while he’s still achieving, then a bigger slap once he retires?
Does it matter?
 
Well I like Hamilton, did not always but I am impressed by him now, so let me state that right at the start.

However if you read those links, and the content is correct, then both are British and sports people, however one stays in Britain and pays their taxes here the other does not and appears not to wish to stay in Britain after he ends his career in sports.

Therefore for the establishment I would think that is a red flag to them, however that may not be the case.

I am making no issue on their ability as sports persons, I think they both give a huge amount of pleasure to the British public and both support Britain in different ways.

I still don't understand why David Beckham has not been honoured more either as he seems to be a big supporter of Britain as well, am sure we will never really understand the reasons behind issues like this.

I'm not really talking about knighthoods etc. as I firmly believe honours should be for exceptional circumstances (not just in a chosen field) and awarded later in life The fact remains that Hamilton has probably paid more tax in the UK than just about anyone on this forum, the fact remains he is British and always promotes the UK, the fact remains he is one of only 2 people to won more than 5 WCS (yes just 2 ever in the history of the sport), the fact remains he doesn't seem to get into bother for drugs, drink, womanising or whatever. He is an excellent role model and a top sportsman yet Andy Murray gets lauded and fawned over by the general public and the media far more despite being a shadow of the player that the likes of Federer, Nadal and Djokovic are. You can't say it's the sport either as tennis is just as marginal as F1 in terms of following in the UK if not more so and anyway the likes of Button, Mansell and Hunt were all held in massively high regard by the UK public and are/were household names.

The living abroad thing and not paying taxes is just an excuse... Button lived in Monaco.... Beckham lives in the USA, tens of thousands of Brits emigrate every year and don't pay tax in the UK... so ****ing what?

The fact remains that there is just one differentiating factor between the likes of Button, Hunt, Mansell, Murray and Beckham and that of Hamilton and it's skin colour!
 
I'm not really talking about knighthoods etc. as I firmly believe honours should be for exceptional circumstances (not just in a chosen field) and awarded later in life The fact remains that Hamilton has probably paid more tax in the UK than just about anyone on this forum, the fact remains he is British and always promotes the UK, the fact remains he is one of only 2 people to won more than 5 WCS (yes just 2 ever in the history of the sport), the fact remains he doesn't seem to get into bother for drugs, drink, womanising or whatever. He is an excellent role model and a top sportsman yet Andy Murray gets lauded and fawned over by the general public and the media far more despite being a shadow of the player that the likes of Federer, Nadal and Djokovic are. You can't say it's the sport either as tennis is just as marginal as F1 in terms of following in the UK if not more so and anyway the likes of Button, Mansell and Hunt were all held in massively high regard by the UK public and are/were household names.

The living abroad thing and not paying taxes is just an excuse... Button lived in Monaco.... Beckham lives in the USA, tens of thousands of Brits emigrate every year and don't pay tax in the UK... so ****ing what?

The fact remains that there is just one differentiating factor between the likes of Button, Hunt, Mansell, Murray and Beckham and that of Hamilton and it's skin colour!

I think 100,000 fans at Silverstone compared to the few thousand at the centre court says it all. And then you have the travelling fans who support him at the away races. They’d probably fill Wimbledon each time. He’s very much loved and supported by many people. I don’t buy newspapers, so perhaps my view of him hasn’t been slanted by them.

Edit: Mansell was continually slated in the media for whinging and having a slug on his lip. Thankfully I saw him race in 86 and 87 at Brands and Silverstone. His racing and the noise of the crowd sung a very different tune to that of the crappy newspapers.
 
I think 100,000 fans at Silverstone compared to the few thousand at the centre court says it all. And then you have the travelling fans who support him at the away races. They’d probably fill Wimbledon each time. He’s very much loved and supported by many people. I don’t buy newspapers, so perhaps my view of him hasn’t been slanted by them.

I agree that in F1 circles he is very much respected, but we are looking at someone who will potentially end up as statistically the greatest F1 driver of all time.... to me we (as in the British press and public) should all be proud that that person is British, is a clean living role model and has largely achieved his success free of the type of controversy that has blighted the likes of Schumacher and Senna. Instead though we are hit with comments about tax dodging and other fantasy nonsense... it's pathetic and rather reflective of how Britain is right now!
 
I'm not really talking about knighthoods etc. as I firmly believe honours should be for exceptional circumstances (not just in a chosen field) and awarded later in life The fact remains that Hamilton has probably paid more tax in the UK than just about anyone on this forum, the fact remains he is British and always promotes the UK, the fact remains he is one of only 2 people to won more than 5 WCS (yes just 2 ever in the history of the sport), the fact remains he doesn't seem to get into bother for drugs, drink, womanising or whatever. He is an excellent role model and a top sportsman yet Andy Murray gets lauded and fawned over by the general public and the media far more despite being a shadow of the player that the likes of Federer, Nadal and Djokovic are. You can't say it's the sport either as tennis is just as marginal as F1 in terms of following in the UK if not more so and anyway the likes of Button, Mansell and Hunt were all held in massively high regard by the UK public and are/were household names.

The living abroad thing and not paying taxes is just an excuse... Button lived in Monaco.... Beckham lives in the USA, tens of thousands of Brits emigrate every year and don't pay tax in the UK... so ****ing what?

The fact remains that there is just one differentiating factor between the likes of Button, Hunt, Mansell, Murray and Beckham and that of Hamilton and it's skin colour!
Hamilton has been in the top three of Sports Personality Awards 5 times and won in 2014, I think that suggests he is accepted and much admired by the British public.
 
If only everyone contributed to Britain her economy as much as Lewis Hamilton.

The lad is a wonderful example to the youth of this Country of what can be achieved regardless of skin colour with hard work and determination.
 
Hamilton has been in the top three of Sports Personality Awards 5 times and won in 2014, I think that suggests he is accepted and much admired by the British public.

Looking at it, there appears to have been just two winners of colour this century so I guess he's done well being one of those.
 
The fact remains that there is just one differentiating factor between the likes of Button, Hunt, Mansell, Murray and Beckham and that of Hamilton and it's skin colour!

There's also personality. Sure Murray might not have the charisma of Federer. But when he's on the court, he shares his emotions for better and worse and takes you on an emotional ride along with him. Admittedly, those sorts of rides are probably a thing of the past now, but some of them were one helluva ride!

I like Hamilton's personality and character myself. But he and Murray stimulate the audience if completely different ways and so I don't think skin colour is the simple answer as to popularity.
 


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