FORMULA ONE PURE LOVE
Forget money and fame, Lewis is fuelled by passion for racing
Neil Moxley
LEWIS HAMILTON is a “serial winner” who will only quit when he tires of the thrill of the race.
As the Stevenage speedster stands on the verge of history in Austin this evening, former F1 ace David Coulthard says he cannot predict how many records will fall before Hamilton calls it a day.
Victory in Texas will catapult the 33-year-old alongside Juan Manuel Fangio with five world titles to his name.
Only Michael Schumacher, with seven, has won more.
Mindset
The question on everyone’s lips is whether Hamilton – who only this summer signed an £80million deal for a further two seasons with Mercedes – will fix the legendary German in his sights.
Coulthard (right) reckons no one can know.
But he did give a hint as to Hamilton’s mindset when he said: “Lewis was signed up by Ron Dennis.
“Since then he’s won in every machine he has ever sat in. He is a serial winner.
“And although he has been in the sport since the year dot, he has managed to maintain his mojo, his passion across all these years.
“Some drivers head off into the party scene in New York.
“Others get their kicks hanging off a rope in the Rockies. Lewis has managed to carve out a niche for himself in Formula One.
“And he dowes it with Mercedes accepting him for what he is and what he likes doing away from the pressures of the pit and the track.
“All of the peripheral stuff, his press conferences, media appearances and sponsorship duties are contractual and carried out because they enable him to do what he still loves – being strapped into that car and going racing.
“And the minute that goes – and I speak from personal experience – the very minute he stops feeling that excitement will be the time when he bows out of the sport.
“It’s not the money, it’s not the adulation – he still loves F1.
“Now, it could be that there’s a James Hunt moment, midway through a season when he decides enough is enough.
“Or there might be a gradual comedown, I don’t know.
“But I think as long as Lewis still feels that passion, he will be in a car.
“It is so difficult to compare him with Fangio or Schumacher.
“To have a true comparison they would need to race in similar cars for the same team.
“That can never happen. But is Lewis a great? Yes.
“Motor racing is an inexact science so you can’t say Lewis is nailed on to beat the benchmarks that are set by other drivers.
“Mercedes have been under pressure by Ferrari this season. “It is for them to go away and ask themselves what they need to redevelop and how they are going to improve.
“But it’s not written in the stars that Lewis will overtake any of the others.
“There’s a lot of hard work still ahead of him – but with each milestone he passes the legend becomes that bit bigger.”
Build up to the US GP on Channel 4 from 6pm and live coverage from 6.40pm