It's a keen topic of conversation amongst all F1 fans, pundits and drivers alike - some for and some against. It's the difference between fans of "real old-school driving" and "corporate racing." It's the driving of a Formula 1 champion.
Many fans and drivers, past and present, have criticised Lewis Hamilton's aggressive driving style, Niki Lauda has insisted that it is "dangerous and that he (Hamilton) will kill someone."
On the flip-side, he has received backing from team-mate Jenson Button, and most-recently driver-manager and father, Anthony Hamilton.
Hamilton senior has insisted that his son needs to remain driving how he is and "all will come good."
I personally agree with Lewis' backers, I believe what we see on the track from him is what I like to think of as "real racing" and it only becomes a problem when official bodies such as the race stewards get involved.
It is my opinion that F1 will lose it's long-term, real, fans if races continue to be won and lost in an office after the chequered flag has fallen. Stewards enquires have gone-up tenfold over the last 5 or 6 years, most of which have been purely racing incidents.
Drivers with the passion that Hamilton has should be rewarded, not hauled up when an over-take goes wrong. Tools, such as DRS and KERS, have been introduced to increase over-taking and improve the racing for fans, however drivers are becoming more and more wary of using them for fear of facing race officials and ultimately a penalty.
F1 drivers are the best in the world, they make judgement calls in split-seconds, they retain concentration at speeds of upto 200mph however, they are not mind-readers, they cannot pre-empt what a driver in-front is going to do as they try for the pass.
It appears to me that the sport's governing body is giving with one hand, in the form of DRS and KERS, and taking with another with the sheer amount of penalties they are handing out. Surely a Formula 1 driver should not be happy unless they have a clear track ahead of them - unless they are P1.
I am by no-means saying that the sport should turn into bumper-cars, consideration has to be taken with respect to the safety of other drivers and the sheer financial cost of any damage incurred, all I am saying is that racers should be allowed to actually race without fear of a reprimand for doing what is built into them.
My opinions on recent altercations between Lewis Hamilton and other drivers, these cases were bought before the stewards on the respective race weekends:
Lewis Hamilton & Felipe Massa (Monaco)
In my opinion it is clear to see that Massa did take an un-usual line into the hairpin and did turn about two car-lengths before he had been doing on previous laps. Although this corner isn't a prime over-taking spot on this circuit, there are very few places to pass and every opportunity has to be taken. I therefore disagree with the penalty handed to Lewis for this, he was racing for position and was "cut-up" - a clear racing incident.
Lewis Hamilton & Pastor Maldonado (Monaco)
Turn one is a low speed entry, high speed exit corner, it was obvious that Lewis' McLaren would have got away up the hill quicker than the Williams of Pastor, I believe the penalty handed to Lewis was fair, he should have held back, took a sensible line through the turn and applied KERS up the hill as soon as he wasn't traction limited. A mistake by Lewis I believe.
Lewis Hamilton & Jenson Button (Canada)
A very wet race so difficult to call, to me, it was clear that Jenson knew Lewis was on the inside of him. Jenson has been racing for many years and he knew he had a bad exit from the final chicane before the pit-straight, it was obvious LH would be close. An obvious jab on the steering wheel to the left left me with no-doubt as to the blame for this incident - Jenson. Add into the mix that Jenson felt the need to apologise and its a clear-cut outcome for me.
Credit: The F1 Times (www.thef1times.com)
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