Hamilton, next big thing?

[OTA]

Don't want to sound oportunistic here, because regardless of today's time Hamilton has been, for some time already, a pretty much undisputed number 1 in each category he's been in.

Is he going to do it in the main circus as well?

Alonso, in my opinion has no match at the moment in F1 and it's been pretty much the same for 2 years, especially among the drivers of his generation, but it seems to me that Hamilton is going to put a heck of a fight. And may be not from day one in terms of race results, but I think he's already impressing in many aspects. I think he's smart man and he'll know how to take advantage of the oportunity he's been given, and that could only mean he'll not settle for second.

Interesting pairing, specially if look a bit further away.

What do you guys think?

Cheers
David

[Allyc85]

He definetly has the potential to be and he "seems" to have his head fairly well screwed on which always helps.

[ChrisS]

He has the potential, but other drivers in the past showed potential in junior series but were never able to cut it in F1, time will show if he will.

Pairing him with Alonso is a good thing IMHO, No-one will blame Hamilton if he fails to be close to Alonso in 2007, after all Alonso is a 2 time WDC and Hamilton is a Rookie, that will take a lot of pressure off him. unlike Kovalainen who is expected to walk all over Fisichella and that will add extra pressure on him

[raikk]

well what ever it is Mclaren look like they have got one hell of a car! 3 days in a row they have been ontop with Alonso and Hamilton! I have a very good feeling about this car, its championship material..

[Valve Bounce]

You guys seem to forget who will be driving the red car - the fastest driver in F1, that's all. Without all the unreliability issues, Kimi would, by now, be the double WDC and not Fernando. And I am a great fan of Fernando.

[donKey jote]

the fastest driver in F1
allegedly :p :

[Sleeper]

You guys seem to forget who will be driving the red car - the fastest driver in F1, that's all. Without all the unreliability issues, Kimi would, by now, be the double WDC and not Fernando. And I am a great fan of Fernando.

Double!? The McLaren wasnt that fat last year. ANyway, I'm beginning to think that maybe Ferrari arent going to be looking too good this year anyway.

[Valve Bounce]

allegedly :p :

donk, you've hurt my feelings. :bigcry:

[harsha]

Double!? The McLaren wasnt that fat last year. ANyway, I'm beginning to think that maybe Ferrari arent going to be looking too good this year anyway.

maybe not last year,but Raikkonen lost two WDC chances in 2003 and 2005 due to reliability problems

[Valve Bounce]

Never undreestimate Ferrari in the current state of affairs. They lost the championship two years in a row, and I must believe that they are not going to take this lying down. They ahd Kimi on the burner for a year and a half already - they are thinking ahead.

[wmcot]

Back to the Hamilton discussion...I, for one, will surely be watching the next couple of seasons to see how he does. IF he's the real thing, it could be just what F1 needs - fresh hot drivers coming up through the ranks!

[Big Ben]

(Hamilton)Fast? he certainly is.... Let's see how consistent he can be.

About Raikkonen being the fastest driver... well.. that´s possible. He just needs a great car. The team will have to work really hard because he´s not going to make one step to meet them halfway :P:... as he doesn´t seem to care much about testing.

[F1boat]

Valve, I still think that without Michael Shumacher, who is IMO the fastest driver in F1 - at least was - Ferrari will lose much of its power.

[captin 1 VXR]

i put 100 down for him to win a race this year 20 for him to win first race of seasson

[wedge]

Looks like McLaren have laid down the gauntlet with Renault and Ferrari there or there about.

As for Hamilton, racing and testing are 2 entirely different things. At this moment in time, us fans don't know how good Hamilton is, whereas the McLaren boys will know better than we do.

Probably best to keep an open mind during the first half of the season.

[OTA]

Of course he'll need to deliver, and I could be very worng, but I think he is the first team mate of FA that will look to the other side of the garage with the will and probably the means to put a real fight.

On top of that he has bring the kind of excitement to the team that PDLR could not do. He ain't nobody's assitant, maybe a good team player, but no assitant, and that shoud be positive to bring motivation to the team.

Cheers
David

[futuretiger9]

Lewis certainly will be a breath of fresh air, and I hope that the British media give him some leeway early on, as he's bound to lack some consistency in comparison to Alonso. The press in the UK are notorious for placing undue pressure on our sporting stars, placing them on a pedestal, and then knocking them down.

It's too early to say whether Hamilton is the next big thing. We've seen plenty of talented youngsters before, who for various reasons have failed to fulfill their potential or buckled under the strain. Lewis seems to have all the necessary attributes to make it, but then again so did many others. He's fortunate to be under the wing of Ron Dennis, who will give him plenty of time, support and reassurance.

Lewis could do worse than watching and learning from Alonso, who is the ultimate modern F1 driver - quick, competitive, brave, dedicated, intense.

It is good to see some fresh new talent emerging - Kubica, Nico Rosberg, Piquet jnr etc. My money's on Hamilton and Kubica to be the real future stars.

[ArrowsFA1]

As for Hamilton, racing and testing are 2 entirely different things. At this moment in time, us fans don't know how good Hamilton is, whereas the McLaren boys will know better than we do.

Probably best to keep an open mind during the first half of the season.
Wise words wedge :up:

Hamilton has shown his ability at every level so far, and his potential is there for everyone to see but he has to prove himself all over again now he's in F1. Having Alonso as a team-mate is a double-edged sword, and how he responds to that challenge will give us a good idea of how bright his future will be.

It's going to be fascinating to watch his progress :cool:

[stevie_gerrard]

I liked the look of Lewis in GP2, but until hes had a full season in f1, he cant be judged on whether hes a title contender for future years.

[tinchote]

No doubt Hamilton is a great talent. But there have been a lot of huge talents that failed in F1. There's the issue of pressure, there's the issue of how good the car is, there's the issue of development of the car. This last thing is a new one when you get into F1: in all smaller series you just do some setup and there you go; in F1 there is a continuous supply of new parts and constant development. The talents required to succeed in F1 are not exactly the same that are required in minor series.

[agwiii]

Valve, I still think that without Michael Shumacher, who is IMO the fastest driver in F1 - at least was - Ferrari will lose much of its power.

F1boat, there is no question the loss of Michael Schumacher has, and will continue to hurt Ferrari. He is irreplaceable. It will be interesting to see how the field sorts itself out in the absence of the decade's Super Star.

[agwiii]

You guys seem to forget who will be driving the red car - the fastest driver in F1, that's all. ...

Do you really think Felipe is the fastest driver in F1? :bounce:

[agwiii]

Pairing him with Alonso is a good thing IMHO, No-one will blame Hamilton if he fails to be close to Alonso in 2007, after all Alonso is a 2 time WDC and Hamilton is a Rookie, that will take a lot of pressure off him.

ChrisS - excellent point. Hamilton, perhaps alone on the grid, is in a "win-win" position. If Alonso out-performs him, there is no embarassment in that, since he's a two-time consecutive WDC and people expect him to win. OTOH, if Hamilton out-performs Alonso, even occasionally, he will get rave reviews for being faster than a two-time consecutive WDC. If he keeps his cool and stays out of trouble -- he MUST at all costs avoid pulling a Michael Andretti.