Greedy F1 to shame
Michael Schumacher for a record-equalling seventh championship, while 94 per cent were convinced Mercedes would take another constructors’ title.
What might be seen as a compliment to the excellence of driver and team can quickly turn to frustrated boredom, especially among wavering fans, who need a reason to tune in when the sport is not live on free-to-air television. Where is the rivalry that brings thrills?
None of this is Hamilton’s fault, but he seems to carry the blame for a lot of things — for being too bling, sparkling like a Christmas tree with his jewellery, or hanging out with too many celebrities, as if they are somehow crimes against popularity.
I do have one cause of frustration. Where he could help himself, if he cared, is in opening up about what has helped him to become such a serial winner. I would love to understand much more about what it takes to stand only seven race wins behind Schumacher’s record of 91 grand-prix victories.
A behind-the-scenes documentary and/or book about what drives him and goes into his success would be fascinating to understand the physical toll through the season, the mental resilience to perform year after year, the nerve when wheel to wheel at 320km/h.
We get only glimpses, largely through his Instagram account, which means that he is mostly communicating, on his own terms, with those who are already his followers. He grants peeks inside his world, whether a clip of him playing piano with the Chinese concert pianist Lang Lang, quite impressively as it happens, or explaining his strictly vegan diet, but it would be good to see something more comprehensive.
What does come through is that, at 35, he is increasingly finding the causes that he cares passionately about, whether saving animals or getting rid of his private jet and some of his luxury cars as his personal contribution towards a more sustainable world.
Hamilton is insistent that he wants to use his profile ‘‘to shift opinion and steer the conversation for positive change’’.
If the coronavirus issue is anything to go by, Hamilton provides more impressive leadership than most in his sport.
THE TIMES
‘‘Is it because I is black?’’ Lewis Hamilton