Lewis is a national treasure ...we just don’t know it yet
WHATEVER your take on Formula One, there can be little more intense than putting your life on the line every time you take part in your chosen sport.
Mercifully, fatalities have become less common, but the danger is still stark.
Everyone in motorsport knows someone who has been killed in pursuit of their passion and profession. That is the harsh reality. For all the perceived glamour of the life of a Formula One driver, there is peril at every turn.
With that comes unrelenting pressure not to make a mistake.
On top, there is the pressure of having to do justice to the thousands of hours put in by your team, not to mention the mind-boggling investment in you and the car.
Add it all up and there can be few sports as psychologically demanding. Those demands can take their toll. As Lewis Hamilton was taking part in first practice at Silverstone on Friday, Nico Rosberg was borrowing a pair of socks so he could comply with the dress code in the Royal Box on Centre Court.
Rosberg quit after winning his World Championship duel with Hamilton, drained by the intensity.
You suspect there is little chance of Hamilton following suit in the near future.
Indeed, on the eve of today’s British Grand Prix, there was even talk of Hamilton wanting to end his career with Ferrari. His daring driving style would sit well with Ferrari.
Not only that, there is a chance he would be loved more by the Italian public than the British public.
He has a largescale devoted following among Formula One enthusiasts, that is for sure. You will see it quite spectacularly at IF Michael Silverstone today. But, beyond the racetrack, there has been an indifference towards Hamilton and his fantastic achievements. And they are fantastic. In a decade in Formula One, he has won 56 times. Only Michael Schumacher has won more. Yesterday’s pole position drive was his 67th, one off Schumacher’s record. If he wins the 2017 Championship, it would be his fourth title, taking him past Sir Jackie Stewart and officially making him the country’s greatest-ever F1 driver. He is going for his fourth consecutive British Grand Prix win. Talk to most experts and they have Hamilton down as the quickest driver out there. Yet, still, he is not as feted and celebrated as much as someone like Sir Andy Murray. “Do people know how much I love the UK? Maybe
become centre-halves, and Gareth Southgate will defence
now. a not enough,” said Hamilton. Let’s face it, not living here does not help him on that particular score.
Being the only driver not to show up for a pre-race promotion on the streets of London was hardly a PR triumph, either. In fact, it was a disaster. Hamilton, though, would argue everything he does, including where he lives, is planned for one reason and one reason only. To win races.
The single-mindedness is typical of one who came from humble beginnings to make it in a world where money can sometimes buy you a seat.
But the unlikely nature of his journey seems to have been forgotten.
If Hamilton triumphs this afternoon, he might repeat last year’s crowd-surfing antics, but the wave of euphoria is unlikely to ripple very far beyond Silverstone.
If you can get past his exile, Hamilton should be a national sporting treasure. Maybe, if he keeps winning in this most intense of sports, he eventually will be.