Lewis Hamilton has become the first rookie to podium in five straight races.
He is going for number six at the Grand Prix in Montreal on Sunday.
He has been called the Tiger Woods of auto racing.
He is a small-town English boy who became the first black Formula One driver.Driven to Succeed
With equal parts talent and charisma, Formula One’s Lewis Hamilton may just be the next Tiger Woods
BY MICHAEL TRAIKOSin Toronto
National Post mtraikos@nationalpost.com
Lewis Hamilton can manoeuvre a singleseat race car through hairpin turns under hard braking and down straightaways at speeds of 300 km/h. But off the track, the Formula One driver has to let someone else do the driving. Team orders, he explained. “Unfortunately enough, we get a driver who takes us around,” said Hamilton, who blamed his chauffeur for being nearly 40 minutes late for a scheduled interview at Hugo Boss in Yorkville earlier this week in advance of tomorrow’s Grand Prix of Canada in Montreal.
Had Hamilton been negotiating the downtown traffic, it would have been a different story. In his first F-1 season, the 22-year-old’s development as a champion racer has been far ahead of schedule. But off the track, he is still learning the nuances of being a hot commodity for one of the richest teams in one of the world’s biggest sports.
“I usually drive everywhere,” he said. “But you can understand what it’s like when you get stuck in traffic for hours. It’s stressful and it drains your energy. You don’t need that when you’ve got to race Formula One races.”
Ever since he climbed into the cockpit of a Formula One race car this season, the powers-thatbe at Team McLaren-Mercedes have been steering his career.
Although he drives for a highprofile team with two-time defending world champion Fernando Alonso as a teammate, no one would have predicted Hamilton’s quick success in the first five races of the season and the steep upswing in attention from fans and reporters.
He began the season with a third-place finish in Australia, followed by four straight secondplace finishes. He is the first rookie to place on the podium in his first five races and became the youngest driver to lead the championship race after the season’s fourth race in Spain. He is currently tied with Alonso with 38 points after Alonso’s win at the Monaco Grand Prix two weeks ago.
With the sudden success, McLaren has had to create strategies for his career on the fly.
That not only includes telling Hamilton what he can and cannot do on the track, but what he can and cannot say off it.
In Monaco, the rookie created controversy when he was reportedly ordered by team director Ron Dennis to “hold position” rather than try and pass Alonso for the checkered flag. Hamilton, searching for his maiden F-1 victory, was understandably upset.
“I was told to take it easy,” he told reporters after the race. “It is something I have to live with. I’ve number two on my car and I am the number two driver.”
Hamilton’s blunt post-race response was fodder for the British dailies, which went as far as to claim that his team had told the young Brit: “We won’t let you win the Monaco Grand Prix.”
His comments also drew the ire of Formula One president/ CEO Bernie Ecclestone, who accused McLaren of fixing the race. FIA, the sport’s governing body, investigated but found no wrongdoing in the team’s tactics.
That has not stopped his employer from trying to curb his public pronouncements.
In an attempt to avoid a similar misstep, reporters were told this week to refrain from asking questions about the following topics: the Monaco incident, the relationship between himself and Alonso, and Hamilton’s skin colour.
Once again, the request came from his team — not Hamilton.
“I don’t see anything that I said was wrong,” he said while a McLaren official stood nearby.
“You definitely have to watch what you say always. I said what I was feeling. I think [the media] came very hard on the team.”
Such orders also draw criticism from outside the McLaren ranks.
“This thing about Ron Dennis trying to keep him away from the press is not necessarily the best thing for the lad,” said retired Formula One driver David Hobbs, who now works as a commentator for the Speed Channel.
“I think from [Dennis’] point of view, he’s trying to protect Lewis from getting too carried away and believing his own press, which tends to spoil some people. I think Ron thinks he’s doing him a favour. But I’m not sure he is.”
For Hamilton, a small-town English boy who became the first black Formula One driver, living by someone else’s rules may just be worth it if it means living out his racing dreams.
“For the last 13 years, I’ve built up expectations for if, and when, I got to Formula One,” Hamilton said. “So you get to Formula One and the expectations are even greater. It’s incredible the pressure you have from the team because you have to perform for the team, as well as the amount of sponsors you have. The whole weekend is extremely intense. And you have to balance it all out and still have time to keep that mental energy to do a whole hour-and-a-half race … [It’s] way beyond anything I’ve ever experienced.”
Tomorrow’s Grand Prix of Canada at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve will be yet another new experience for Hamilton. But based on his track record, he may be nearing the top of the learning curve.
Hamilton, who has been called the Tiger Woods of auto racing, knows how to win. And, like the golfer, he is supremely confident in his abilities. When he was still racing go-karts around Hertfordshire, he boldly told Dennis that he would drive for him one day. Two years later, the prediction came true as the McLaren boss signed the 13-year-old to a developmental contract.
“That took some balls for a 11year-old,” Hobbs said.
In his first Formula One season, Hamilton is living up to the hype. And the photogenic driver, who has a taste for high fashion, is breaking as many records as he is hearts.
“I expected to do well,” Hamilton said. “I expected to be in the points, but I didn’t expect to be on the podium, so it’s better than I expected.”
“To be joint leading the championship after his fifth race is extraordinary,” Hobbs said. “I’m sure Alonso absolutely thought he had it made this year, and then here’s Lewis Hamilton breathing down his neck. That’s not what he wanted.”
With Michael Schumacher retired from driving, Formula One arguably needed a fresh young driver with the charisma and talent of Hamilton. The fact that he appeals to a demographic largely ignored by the sport was an added bonus.
“We were all worried about this year with Schumacher retiring,” Hobbs said. “But with the championship being as close as it is and with Hamilton right in there, this is turning out to be one of the best years in a long time.”
Indeed, with Hamilton appealing to casual race fans, the belief is that he could transcend the sport in the same way that Woods has in golf. This weekend’s race will be broadcast live on Fox Sports, a first for the North American audience.
“I think he will bring interest into the sport and open it up,” Hobbs said. “From Britain’s point of view, he could be the next David Beckham. And the fact is, he certainly could be the next Tiger Woods. I think he will open up a huge new audience.”
“I don’t think it’s ever too early,” Hamilton said of his role in the sport’s next growth spurt. “The support from all of Europe, Australia and all over the world has been incredible. I hope that in the U.K., and all over the world there’s a lot more attention to Formula One, a lot more people interested in the sport.”
