Hamilton Says Off The Track Problems Cost Him 2010 Championship
#1
12-29-2010 | 02:03 PM
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From: Orange County
Hamilton Says Off The Track Problems Cost Him 2010 Championship
THE FACTS:
Lewis Hamilton's poor performance towards the end of the 2010 F1 season may have been the result of trouble off the track - in his personal life.
While refusing to give details, Hamilton told the BBC that his performance on the track was heavily influenced by such things as his personal appearances, mood swings and his relationships. Most believe that Lewis is referring to the deterioration of his relationship with father Anthony and his decision to terminate his professional relationship with him. Anthony had long been Lewis's business manager.
"As soon as some of those things are off, and you've not got all those pieces of the puzzle in place, it makes it very hard to do other aspects of your life as easily. The key I think to life is getting all those pieces of the puzzle in place."
Hamilton did say - however - that his mind should be much clearer in 2011 and free from "outside intrusions."
After making a pretty poor "Tiger Woods" analogy (see ESPNF1.com article under SOURCES below) Hamilton went on to admit that fourth place in 2010 was a huge letdown for him.
"It's been a long time since I finished out of the top three of a championship in my career. Finishing fourth is not something that I'm not particularly proud of . . . We had a solid couple of bad races where I lost points which would have put me in a much stronger position to compete for the championship at the end of the year and really just throughout the year in general."
Whatever the outcome, there can be no doubt that anything but a World Championship is going to be a disappointment for Hamilton and McLaren.
MY TAKE:
Unlike Fernando Alonso - who made the majority of his gaffes at the start of the 2010 season - Hamilton's miscues came mainly at the end of the year. Worse yet, most occurred when he was either leading the World Championship or still very much in contention. Those mistakes were primarily the result of Hamilton's driving style. More than any driver on the grid, Lewis tries to wring the last drop of performance from his car. This often results in him pushing a bit too hard and taking unnecessary gambles. Just think - had Lewis kept his head together and finished second or better at either Monza or Singapore, he would have beaten Vettel and been World Champion. Personal problems or not, that is a tough pill for any driver to swallow.
I love Lewis Hamilton. But to come out now and blame any part of his 2010 failure on "personal problems" seems a bit thin to me. One of Lewis' obvious issues is a hot temper and a tendency to not own his mistakes. A hot temper comes with the race car driver mentality. But playing the blame game and making excuses sounds a bit too much like a disappointed teenager. I suppose - and hope - that with time and maturity he will overcome these issues. But statements to the BBC like those above are not helping his image as F1's "boy champion."
Lewis Hamilton's failure to win the World Championship in 2010 came down to one thing: he simply did not have a car that could do the job. This frustrated Lewis and caused him to take unnecessary risks. While his personal life may have played a role, it was hardly the primary reason he finished out of contention.
Just my take.
SOURCES:
Personal problems cost Lewis Hamilton title tilt in 2010 | McLaren | Formula 1 news, live F1 | ESPN F1
Last edited by Barrister; 12-29-2010 at 02:38 PM.
#8
12-29-2010 | 05:11 PM
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Joined: Oct 2010
Posts: 873
From: Minnesota US
I prefer having to listen to Kimi interview than listening to Lewis drive and talk about F1.
