Lewis Hamilton is racing from F1 champion to F1 distraction this season. He’s Black and proud. So he must find it humbling to make news only for his off-track dating and fashion choices.
Lewis Hamilton should retire
I am a big Hamilton fan. You’d be hard-pressed to find a bigger one. I can even cite blog posts dating back to his first years on the circuit to prove my contention.
For example, I hailed him way back in 2008. That’s when he became the youngest ever and first Black F1 Champion. And I was still hailing him in 2019. That’s when he was poised to become the F1 GOAT by dethroning Michael Schumacher.
But I urged Hamilton to retire before the 2022 season. And my longstanding support gave me the standing to do so.
Now he’s vindicating my urging. Hamilton is already out of contention for the F1 championship this year. Moreover, this season is going up in smoke the way last season went..
But I said all I care to in the podcast episode “Lewis Hamilton Robbed of F1 Glory.” It includes the following excerpt:
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The time has come for the 36-year-old Hamilton to retire. The way this season played out was a bad omen. I’m afraid it was now or never for that eighth championship.
Granted, he would end up tied with Schumacher for the most world championships. But add to that Hamilton’s record-setting 103 career wins, and nobody could deny he’s the greatest of all time. Schumacher is second with 91 wins on the Grand Prix circuit. Vettel is a distant third with 53.
Not to mention that Hamilton has already rewritten the F1 record books. He has the most pole positions, points, and podium finishes. And he’s the only driver to win a race in every season he competed.
No doubt, 24-year-old Max Verstappen of team Red Bull is brash and reckless. But Hamilton would be well-advised to let equally brash drivers humble and challenge him.
I’m referring to drivers like 22-year-old Lando Norris of Team McClaren, 23-year-old George Russell of Team Williams, and 24-year-old Charles LeClerc of Team Ferrari.
Meanwhile, no less a person than the queen thinks it’s time for Hamilton to retire. Why else would the palace rush to crown his career with a knighthood? That leads me to conclude as I began. That is, by reiterating that Hamilton is the king of F1. So why kneel for a knighthood?’
In it, I explain why seeing Hamilton win all those championships filled me with so much pride. That’s because he did so while championing diversity in his sport. But I also explain why seeing him kneel to be knighted so wounded that pride. He didn’t even get the queen to knight him. Prince Charles did the honors.
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Once again, I express my deep disappointment at seeing this season go downhill after just one race:
Lewis Hamilton has claimed Mercedes did not listen to him over the development of their underperforming Formula One car. The seven-time world champion finished fifth in the Bahrain Grand Prix on Sunday, over 50 seconds behind the race winner, Max Verstappen. …
Hamilton’s Mercedes teammate George Russell has predicted that [Verstappen’s] team could win all 23 races this year.
(The Guardian, March 8, 2023)
Of course, Hamilton racing out of contention is dismaying enough. But he’s complaining about his mechanics letting him down. And that is only compounding this dismay.
After all, I spent 15 years hailing his unprecedented and unrivaled driving skills. But this complaint makes those skills seem irrelevant.
As it happens, I presaged his complaint with this prescient observation: Alas, it had to be the car!
Hamilton is ruining his legacy
Hamilton failed to win a single race last season. So he can no longer boast of winning a race in every season of his career.
Frankly, he still seems dazed and confused. And it stems from that notorious season-ending loss to Verstappen two years ago. Because one day, he’s saying he does not care if he ever wins another race. The next day, he’s saying he’ll race until he wins that record-breaking eighth championship.
Except that loss to Verstappen not only robbed him of that record but sapped him of his drive. But imagine the insult to fans, to say nothing of owners who are paying him over $40 million a year to win races, of Hamilton saying he no longer cares.
Lewis Hamilton has said he doesn’t care if he doesn’t win another race, as long as he uses his platform to speak out.
(Daily Mail, February 27, 2023)
Only a driver who is out of contention for the F1 championship would say something like that. But Hamilton fails to realize that, if he doesn’t win another race, nobody will care what he has to say.
Sadly, he’s becoming to F1 racing what Nick Kyrgios is to tennis. And that is little more than a charismatic, narcissistic, attention-seeking distraction.
After all, he’s making news these days for bullying F1 stewards to allow him to wear nose rings during races. Instead of being known for his thrilling performance in outpacing drivers to win the F1 championship.