Fifth Column: Nigel Roebuck
If the spectacle of Lewis Hamilton carving his way to the world title seems familiar, much is changing off-track in the new Liberty era
THE FAT LADY IS TUNING UP FOR MEXICO CITY, where this coming weekend Lewis Hamilton needs to finish only fifth to clinch his fourth world championship. Given that since the summer break Hamilton has lost only once – in Malaysia, where he finished second to
Max Verstappen – you’d have to rate his chances as somewhat better than average.
After the season he has had, the odds shorten that sooner or later he has to have some sort of mechanical failure, but Mercedes reliability has been remarkable in 2017, and Lewis, freed of the occasional torment that was Nico Rosberg, has driven better than ever before, rather dispelling the age-old theory that drivers give of their best when pressured by their team-mate. Valtteri Bottas has given a good account of himself, once or twice having the better of Hamilton, but Rosberg he ain’t. Only now perhaps are we beginning to appreciate how good Nico was.
For a change, therefore, Lewis’s major opposition has come not from the guy in the other Mercedes, but from Sebastian Vettel and a revitalised Ferrari team. Prior to the summer break the world championship seemed like very much a two-hander between them, but from Spa on Hamilton has been near-faultless, with Ferrari’s simultaneous chapter of disasters almost impossible to fathom. At least, at the Circuit of the Americas, the cars ran reliably, taking second and third places, but although Vettel made the best of the start, and led Hamilton for five laps, there was an inevitability that Lewis would get by.
This season, the beginning of the Liberty era in Formula 1, I have after each race received from them a list of celebrities who were in attendance, and I confess that on most occasions the vast majority of the names have meant nothing to me. This, I willingly concede, may have something to do with my vintage – I am bored witless by the whole culture of ‘celebs’, most of whom seem to be folk famous for being famous – but for Austin all the stops had clearly been pulled out, with Bill Clinton presenting the winner’s trophy to Hamilton, and Usain Bolt – even bigger in the flesh than TV would have you believe – conducting the podium interviews.
Very plainly, we are into a new era, which some will find to their taste, others perhaps not. Approaching the circuit were large roadside hoardings, advertising the event: F1 US GRAND PRIX read the top line, and beneath not LEWIS HAMILTON and SEBASTIAN VETTEL, but JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE and STEVIE WONDER, the stars of the Saturday and Sunday evening concerts at the track.
“I confess the majority of the celebrity names have meant nothing to me”
There was a time, I said wistfully to a Liberty man, when racing alone was enough to entice the young to buy tickets, and he said yes – but such was no longer the case, and regrettably I know he’s right. Thus, the age of the Super Bowl is coming to a grand prix near you.
Undeniably, though, the US Grand Prix, while not on the scale of the Indianapolis or Daytona 500s, did have the feel of a big occasion. COTA may be a modern venue, but the track is undeniably one of Hermann Tilke’s best designs, and after five years is starting to get some bottle age.
On Sunday morning the elements, too, played a hand in building the drama. Driving to the circuit felt positively Wagnerian, with rain bouncing off the road in the darkness, thunder crashing right overhead, lightning crackling across the sky. Once in the press room, some of us expressed the hope – in the interests of unpredictability – for a wet race, but by mid-morning the track was drying out, and as the pre-race ceremonies began it was clear and bright.
It was a pleasure to come across such as Mika Hakkinen and Juan Pablo Montoya in the paddock, and I also much enjoyed a chat with Josef Newgarden, who a few weeks ago became Indycar champion in his first season as a Penske driver. American friends have told me that Newgarden’s ambition had always been to get to Formula 1, and he didn’t deny it: “There is truth to that, yes, but actually I also wanted to do Indycar.”
Well, back in the day, I said, Mario Andretti used to do both, running all the Indycar races that didn’t clash with grands prix. “I know,” Josef said, “and I think it’s a shame we’ve gotten away from that. Each discipline in the sport has become incredibly specialised. The way team managers look at it is, ‘You’re an F1 driver, and that’s your full focus’ – it’s the same with Indycar and NASCAR. Look at the reaction when Alonso said he was going to run the Indy 500…
“I actually feel very similar to how Fernando feels – you want to be a complete driver, and that’s not an abnormal thought: it used to be very common, but for the last 20 years it’s almost been pushed on drivers – no, you can’t do that. I wish we could reverse that trend, and go back to the way it used to be.
“Will I ever get a shot at Formula 1? I have no idea – maybe, at 26, I’m already too old! I know I have a great career in front of me with Penske, but as a racer, of course I’m always looking at everything else. I saw several grands prix when I was in Europe, doing GP3 back in 2010, and being here this weekend has reignited my love of Formula 1…”
Liberty would kill for an American star, and the personable Newgarden seems a natural fit, but he well knows that in Formula 1 only three teams offer a realistic opportunity of winning, and why would he give up his hallowed Penske drive for anything less? If we never see him in a grand prix car, it would be our loss as well as his.