LETTERS
Lewis must learn
Lewis Hamilton is an exquisite racing driver. He also used to be a great role model for young people generally, but he no longer is so judging by his embarrassing, disgraceful and childish behaviour during the Suzuka press conference.
It may be understandable for someone of Max Verstappen’s age to mess about with their phone in full view of their team, sponsors and the rest of the world. However, young Max comes across as being far more mature than his 19 years, nearly half Hamilton’s age.
It’s about time Mercedes Benz took Lewis aside and instructed him how to behave. He is paid a shed load of money to do what he does, with millions of people following his every move, and the FIA should fine him for bringing the sport I have loved for more than 40 years into disrepute.
Hamilton said he doesn’t think about races once he’s left the circuit as he has so many other things going on in his life.
If he’s so bored, please move on and let someone else have a chance. I sincerely hope Lewis Hamilton does not win his fourth title any time soon. John Russell Via email We need fans I am writing in agreement with Chris Lunn’s letter ( Motorsport News, October 5) on how the Motor Sports Association’s draconian stance on where rally spectators are, or more importantly, aren’t allowed to stand or stray outside the hated ‘spectator pens’ on rallies.
That in itself answers to Jack Benyon’s question: “Where have all the spectators gone?” I’d like to shine a light on how the lack of people anywhere other than at designated ‘Spectator Areas’ is affecting rally crew safety.
I was competing on June’s Scottish Rally with Steven Clark, son of great Scottish rallying legend Ivor, in his Mitsubishi Lancer E6.
We were having a great rally, lying eighth overall and first non-r5 car when we rolled not far into SS5. Steve was out of the car before it had even stopped, or so it seemed, checking that I was OK before running down the stage to warn approaching cars that ours was upside down and in the middle of the road.
This was my first experience of being on the roof in over 35 years of navigating, off and on, so I felt a bit disorientated and allied to the fact that I’m clumsy at the best of times, three or four cars passed before I exited the car.
The point I’m making is this was only half a mile into the stage and there was no one there. In the past there’d have been a good number of people about who’d have pushed us back onto the wheels and carry on with minimal time loss, or help us get out of the car, or render assistance if we needed it.
We drive mile after mile through stages and don’t see a soul, sometimes even junctions are unmanned – maybe valuable manpower is being moved from the stages to keep spectators in their pens? God forbid that any may escape!
Is it going to take injuries or even deaths of competitors who are trapped in their cars because there’s no one around to help them to make the MSA see that not everything is rosy in the rallying garden at the moment? And the implementation of the Scottish rallying report certainly is not the answer to everything... Steve Pugh Aberystwyth
Milner’s future
After reading another fine report by Paul Lawrence on the Trackrod Historic Cup, I have to ask does a guy like Adam Milner, who seems to have that raw talent that we hear about very rarely, have to go through the long road of finding a super-rich sponsor to get him through the British Championship and some European events?
Or does he just turn up at the fantastic M-sport forest at Greystoke jump in a Ford Fiesta R5+ and show how close he is to the times required to be noticed by teams?
We need these guys to be given a chance to show early on in their careers what they can do before they grow old and poor trying. Eddie Gale, Fareham, Hampshire