Comment: Hamilton has plenty to prove
Friday 8th July 2011
Lewis Hamilton has 89 points to make up in the quest for this season's Formula One title but he has one much more important point to prove at the British Grand Prix.The most exciting driver in Formula One needs to show he can race to the limit of his considerable talent without crossing the line into recklessness.
He needs to prove to home fans that his driving is not "completely mad", as it was labelled by three-times world champion Niki Lauda after the collision with team-mate Jenson Button in Montreal last month.
Driving on the edge and staying safe is the finest of lines in motor sport. It is an especially tough challenge on a weekend when the adrenalin will be pumping as British motor racing fans dream of seeing a British one-two at Silverstone with drivers in the same team for the first time.
Can McLaren's Hamilton and Jenson Button light up the sporting summer just a week after Andy Murray's disappointing semi-final exit from Wimbledon?
It is possible, but only if they can plot a way past this season's most obstinate road block in the shape of Germany's Sebastian Vettel.
With eight of the 20 races gone Vettel, the reigning champion, it seems, is already over the horizon and coasting to his second world championship title.
He has won six and come second in two of the races so far this season. His domination has been compared to that of his countryman Michael Schumacher, the legendary seven-times world champion who won five titles in succession.
Vettel has some way to go before he can be lauded in such terms but there is no doubt Formula One has become something of a procession with the Red Bull star at the wheel.
The statistics are impressive. Vettel became the youngest Formula One driver, at 19 years and 53 days, when he raced at the 2007 US Grand Prix.
He was the youngest to secure a pole position at the 2008 Italian Grand Prix which he won, making him the youngest to win a race by almost a year, while last year he became the sport's youngest world champion.
He turned 24 last Sunday and shows no sign of letting up even though he leads this season's championship by 77 points from team-mate Mark Webber and Button, who share second place on 109 points.
You can see why 26-year-old Hamilton, back on 97 points in fourth, might just be a tad frustrated.
It was not so long ago that Hamilton was the young gun, the driver feted as the most naturally-talented in Formula One and predicted to dominate the sport for a decade.
Yet he finds himself in a McLaren which cannot match the raw speed of the Red Bull. The angst came tumbling out of Hamilton following the Monaco Grand Prix six weeks ago when he finished sixth after incurring penalties.
"I pushed beyond my limit because I knew we weren't as competitive as the guys in front," Hamilton said. "I don't think I have ever driven the car so hard in my life. I was on such a ragged edge I think I even touched the wall at one point."
Nothing wrong with that. Formula One is all about aggression. It is all about pushing the limits as drivers from Juan Fangio to Ayrton Senna to Michael Schumacher and Nigel Mansell and others have all proved in the past.
Yet it is also about keeping a clear head when the pressure is at its greatest and that is what Hamilton must do on Sunday.
He knows Silverstone well. He won there in 2008. The track suits his aggressive style and he knows he and Button can finish ahead of Vettel. In fact, they are the only drivers to have done so this season, winning the Canadian and Chinese Grands Prix respectively.
Button has just as big an incentive. He has not finished on the podium at Silverstone in 11 attempts.
The race between the Britons promises to be a fascinating duel. If Hamilton can win that and somehow get safely by the man from Germany it could be the sporting highlight of the summer. And a point well proved.
Credit: ESPN STAR (www.espnstar.com)
No comments:
Post a Comment