‘Foolish’ Hamilton under fire
IT IS getting harder to know where to unpick the riddle wrapped in a mystery inside the enigma that is Lewis Hamilton. The only certainty is that he is a very fine driver and he may yet spend the weekend showing us that his bizarre road accident in Monaco has done nothing to impair the professional functioning of his right foot.
He was just over four-tenths of a second slower than his Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg in practice yesterday, but that means little.
Here at Interlagos, perhaps the finest of all the undulating theatres of his sport, Hamilton dominated talk off the track. From Britain there were questions about his suitability to remain an FIA road safety ambassador in light of his prang in the early hours of Tuesday morning.
In the paddock, more strangely, Hamilton’s team principal Toto Wolff said of his driver: ‘He doesn’t drink. Lewis doesn’t drink.’
Many of us are not unduly concerned about his liquid intake. But it is baffling to hear Wolff say what he did when the triple world champion has spent the last few weeks telling us that he is the most enthusiastic imbiber since Bacchus fell off his bar stool.
Wolff is probably closer to the mark. This means that Hamilton’s new status as a hell-raiser might not be quite as hardcore as his advertising would have us believe.
Hamilton, incidentally, was never entirely teetotal, and the day after he lost the title to Kimi Raikkonen in 2007 he made his excuses in his suite in Sao Paulo’s Hilton hotel. The post-race party was too much for him.
It is often the way with sportsmen. Even James Hunt once threw up on his shoes after one can of lager. So why, if Wolff is right, is Hamilton making wild claims?
It seems to this observer at least that, aged 30, he still finds the need to attach himself to something ‘cool’. In many ways he remains an unworldly boy, which is not the most ignoble thing to be. Mercedes are cutting him plenty of slack and will continue to do so. ‘It’s important that he delivers well on track,’ said Wolff, ‘living within the boundaries of what’s right and wrong, and he respects that.’
Not everybody is impressed by his 3.30am accident. Mike Bristow, spokesman for the road safety charity Brake, said: ‘It’s disappointing to hear someone of Lewis’ stature admitting to such foolish behaviour. He’s let himself down and his fans, many of whom are younger people.
‘Driving tired is estimated to cause one in 10 fatal crashes.
‘Hamilton has a choice to make: party more or drive less. He can’t carry on doing both and expect to keep his road safety role.’
The FIA, still working their way up from 0-60, are considering how to respond to the furore.