A true great
► F1’s mercurial boy from nowhere cements place among giants
Lewis Hamilton cemented his position as one of Formula One’s true greats when he captured his sixth world title, a staggering achievement described as “not bad for a boy from a council house.”
His second-place finish at the United States Grand Prix last weekend took him past the five titles of Juan-Manuel Fangio – who he describes as “The Godfather” – and to within one of seven-time champion Michael Schumacher.
He had already won more than men like Australia’s Jack Brabham, fellow Briton Jackie Stewart, Austrian Niki Lauda and Brazilians Nelson Piquet and Ayrton Senna in a spectacular statement of achievement.
The son of a black father and a white mother, who survived a broken home in his youth, Hamilton, 34, grew up on a municipal housing estate where his father Anthony at one time held down three jobs to fund his son’s embryonic racing career in karts.
His journey was unprivileged and without luxury, but it was clear from an early age that he had an outstanding gift for speed and all the gutsy natural instincts of a born racer.
In 1995, aged 10, and wearing a jacket and shoes borrowed from his predecessor as British Formula Cadet karting champion, he went to a glittering awards ceremony in London where he met McLaren’s then-boss Ron Dennis.
He asked for an autograph and told him “one day I want to race for you.”
Dennis replied, “Phone me in nine years and I’ll sort you a deal.”
‘Mercurial, tempestuous’
Bold, determined and individual, he almost won the title in his first recordbreaking season as he reeled off nine successive podiums from his debut in Melbourne, rocking the establishment along the way with his speed and his style.
On and off the track, he was fast, somewhat mercurial and occasionally tempestuous and this combination led to a fierce rivalry with teammate and two-time champion Fernando Alonso, who left McLaren at the end of the year.
That was a signal of how tough it was to be for all his future teammates as Hamilton, who narrowly missed out on the 2007 title, returned to triumph in 2008 with a dramatic last-gasp fifth-place finish in Brazil.
He also showed frustration as McLaren failed to deliver the speed to beat current rival and four-time champion Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull, who reeled off four straight title triumphs from 2010 to 2013, by when Hamilton had departed for Mercedes.
Escaping the management regime of Dennis and his father, Hamilton found freedom at Mercedes alongside teammate German Nico Rosberg, his teenage karting friend and rival.
This enabled Hamilton to express himself with a headline-grabbing transAtlantic lifestyle, mixing with musicians and “fashionistas.”
He showed little love for any duty to obey conventions and, for many observers, gave his sport a welcome injection of freshness and diversity as champion again in 2014 and 2015.
Rosberg broke Hamilton’s sequence of supremacy in 2016 and then retired, leaving the Englishman to dominate.
His former McLaren teammate Jenson Button summed up Hamilton’s pure speed when he said, “For me, over one lap, I don’t think there is anyone as quick as Lewis and I don’t think there ever has been.”
‘Never satisfied’
That speed, which has always been a natural talent, has in recent seasons been allied to a more mature attitude to his job as team leader.
Mercedes team chief Toto Wolff summed up: “He is never satisfied. He never settles. He is never happy with where he is as a racing driver and a human being. He wants to optimize, to develop and he is very much part of the leadership of the team.”
Having achieved so much as his sport’s best-known ambassador, Hamilton’s interest in social issues has emerged more frequently.
Earlier this month, he posted his concerns for the environment and revealed a fleeting despair at the state of the world when he used Instagram to declare that the planet was “a messed-up place” and he felt he wanted “to give up.”
That commentary, including revelations about his vegan lifestyle, led to him being accused of hypocrisy.
“I’m only human,” he said. “Like everyone, we have up and down days. That’s what I’ve been really trying to convey.”
His own career and his quest for self-expression and freedom has shaped his advice for young drivers.
“What I can definitely advise any kid that’s out there trying to race is don’t listen to people who tell you that you need a mental coach or you need someone to help control your mind,” he said.
“You need to let it run wild and free and discover yourself. It is all about discovery. And only you can do it.”
On November 3, father Anthony summed up his son’s achievement: “It’s absolutely amazing and not bad for a boy from a Stevenage council house.”