It's difficult to assess how good Vettel is - Hamilton

[vcs316]

In one fell swoop, Lewis Hamilton has maligned three more F1 stars. Recently, the new triple world champion had to hit reverse gear after suggesting F1 legend Michael Schumacher's record seven titles were won with questionable tactics, while his own were the result of "my natural abilities only".

Now, the increasingly controversial 30-year-old has made his latest verbal gaffe in conversation with the German magazine Sport Bild. When asked about the quadruple world champion and likely 2016 title challenger Sebastian Vettel, Hamilton said: "I have a lot of respect for him, but it's difficult to assess how good he really is."

"He's never been in a team with someone like Fernando Alonso, but always with people like Mark Webber, who was not on his level, and Kimi Raikkonen, who is no longer at the peak of his performance," the Briton added.

Before the Sport Bild interview, Hamilton's former McLaren teammate Jenson Button warned the Mercedes driver about letting his recent success make him "arrogant". When asked about his arguably excessive confidence, Hamilton told Sport Bild: "I would not call it self-confidence, but extreme faith in myself. That is the key to success," he argued.

"Before my debut in 2007, I knew it would be hard to beat Fernando, but I also knew that I could do it. I still remember before the first race, Ron Dennis said I shouldn't be too disappointed if Alonso beats me really badly. But I knew that it wouldn't happen," added Hamilton. (GMM)

[WS6TransAm01]

Hamilton is such a douche. Pride comes before the fall. I really hope his car blows up every other race next year. What a tool.

[Fireblade]

"He's never been in a team with someone like Fernando Alonso .."

Look's like Lew is determined to live off 2007 for the rest of his life. I notice that while Hamilton complained bitterly about Seb's car while Seb was winning titles, Seb has refrained from pointing out that Hamilton's car is a lot more dominant than any of his Bulls were.

They say money can't buy class, and Hamilton is a textbook example of that.

[Fireblade]

http://magnetimarelli.com/focus-on-racing/F1/20150018

"Mercedes set a new Formula 1 all-time record: their F1 W06 is the first model in history to record a total domination of the race five times in a season. That is a double in the race, a front row lockout, the two fastest race laps and the entire race in the lead. They surpass in this the McLaren MP4-4 which achieved this feat 4 times in the 1988 championship."

But sure thing, Hammy, you go right on believing that your titles were a result of your "natural abilities only"!

[TigerKing]

LewLew needs to get off his high horse manufactured by Stuttgart and give some credit to the team.
Let's be honest, if the Sf15-T was Lewis's car and the W06 was Seb's, Hamilton wouldn't have won even Singapore.

[SilverSpeed]

They say money can't buy class, and Hamilton is a textbook example of that.

Nail and head!

[evo_spook]

Oh dear, some so quick to leap to a headline. From another forum from a german who's read the original question.


As usual the context is missing. But no worries, I read parts of the original Interview ;)

If I recall it correctly he was asked about which driver he would take:"Normally as a team chief you would take the best drivers. That would be Vettel. I have big respect towards him, but I cant really assesse how good he is...." (that was more or less the context, dont remember exactly everything)

Actually he was praising Vettel and just saying that ultimately he cant judge how good he really is.

[Stormy]

I think Hamilton will find out soon how good Vettel is, when Ferrari gets a lot closer to Mercedes next year.

[Giallo 550]

Hamilton had the entire McLaren team backing him in 2008 AND he only beat Felipe Massa by one point by executing a questionable pass at the last turn.

His competition over the past two seasons has been Nico Rosberg.

He will never perform at the level Alonso did in 2012.

Edit: Oh, and lets not forget the tech McLaren stole from Scuderia Ferrari in 2007.


Vettel basically doubled Kimi's points this season and has been on the podium 13 times.

He's a four time champion in cars that did not have the qualifying lap time advantages the '14 and '15 Mercedes enjoyed.

I hope you like red, Hamilton. You'll be seeing a lot of it in the distance next season.

[Giallo 550]

Oh dear, some so quick to leap to a headline. From another forum from a german who's read the original question.


As usual the context is missing. But no worries, I read parts of the original Interview ;)

If I recall it correctly he was asked about which driver he would take:"Normally as a team chief you would take the best drivers. That would be Vettel. I have big respect towards him, but I cant really assesse how good he is...." (that was more or less the context, dont remember exactly everything)

Actually he was praising Vettel and just saying that ultimately he cant judge how good he really is.

The problem is nobody asked him how good he thinks Vettel is. He volunteered all that other garbage. Even if he or she did ask, all he had to say was that he's a four-time world champion, and that speaks for itself.

[abbottcostello]

The problem is nobody asked him how good he thinks Vettel is. He volunteered all that other garbage. Even if he or she did ask, all he had to say was that he's a four-time world champion, and that speaks for itself.

Not really any different "in context".
When you speak of someone who STILL has more titles than you, it's generally a good idea to defer to their achievements, especially since in a longer career you have not even equaled his titles. "I can't really assess how good he is", what does that even mean.
Really Lewis, just keep the pie-hole shut & smile at them, they'll think you're smarter!

[Brembo]

It appears that Luis here has had his freedom of speech rights revoked. Untill he can actually win a title without the help of a car, he should not feel he's won anything. MS at Ferrari, never had a decent car. Seb at Red Bull never had a decent car. They they won championships solely on their driving abilities, in MS case dirty or clean at times. But he was allowed. Winning F1 titles are meaningless unless the driver in this case Lewis can wipe them from his vocabulary and only praise the past winners. After race drivers attire is as important in F1 as a car's chassie or say how the rear wing looks . All that black paint on the Ferrari's is a clear example of poor taste IMO. That could be what's keeping us off pole.

[abbottcostello]

I've never in all my years of following F1 heard a driver stick his foot in his mouth like Lewis seems to do, maybe it's just the extra scrutiny with the internet, but dumb, unthinking remarks about another driver or team or whatever usually come to light no matter what media is used.
From now on I am just going to ignore him, take that Lewis

[stefa]

Look's like Lew is determined to live off 2007 for the rest of his life. I notice that while Hamilton complained bitterly about Seb's car while Seb was winning titles, Seb has refrained from pointing out that Hamilton's car is a lot more dominant than any of his Bulls were.

They say money can't buy class, and Hamilton is a textbook example of that.

Spot on!

[stefa]

This self-obsessed maniac need to get ASAP hard fist punch in the face!!!

[Rob]

This self-obsessed maniac need to get ASAP hard fist punch in the face!!!

he is starting to believe his own hype. My Dad, very patriotic. Will support the Brits. But he has started to dislike Lewis, he thinks he has grown to arrogant, and as you said Stefa, self-obsessed.

[Nova]

Lewis? Lewis who??

[TigerKing]

Lewis? Lewis who??

Does he drive for Ferrari? No? Then I don't care

[Tobes]

I've never in all my years of following F1 heard a driver stick his foot in his mouth like Lewis seems to do,

My mum used to tell me 'a closed mouth catches no feet'... some advice Lewis ought to heed...

[Stormy]

My mum used to tell me 'a closed mouth catches no feet'... some advice Lewis ought to heed...

Actually no. Lewis is filthy rich and he is doing what ever he wants and on top of all that he is wining some titles. What ever we say that will happen to him if he continue like this doesn't hold any weight. He will most probably continue what he do and still be a superstar with hamsters following him all over. I'm not saying what he does is right, but i doubt anything bad will happen to him career wise. Unfortunately that's how the world and a huge portion of the human kind is.

[Tobes]

Actually no. Lewis is filthy rich and he is doing what ever he wants and on top of all that he is wining some titles. What ever we say that will happen to him if he continue like this doesn't hold any weight. He will most probably continue what he do and still be a superstar with hamsters following him all over. I'm not saying what he does is right, but i doubt anything bad will happen to him career wise. Unfortunately that's how the world and a huge portion of the human kind is.

Not necessarily, greater sportsmen than him have fallen from grace and been humbled...

[ManFromMilan]

This self-obsessed maniac need to get ASAP hard fist punch in the face!!!

I second that motion

[steelstallions]

http://magnetimarelli.com/focus-on-racing/F1/20150018

"Mercedes set a new Formula 1 all-time record: their F1 W06 is the first model in history to record a total domination of the race five times in a season. That is a double in the race, a front row lockout, the two fastest race laps and the entire race in the lead. They surpass in this the McLaren MP4-4 which achieved this feat 4 times in the 1988 championship."

But sure thing, Hammy, you go right on believing that your titles were a result of your "natural abilities only"!

Well put

[aroutis]

Again, why do we care bout LH?

[abbottcostello]

My mum used to tell me 'a closed mouth catches no feet'... some advice Lewis ought to heed...

That's a classic, I will use that one!

Wow, just caught the end of "Winning, the racing life of Paul Newman", I've got to record the whole thing it is so good! You talk about being down to earth & humble, here's a guy who was already at the top in his acting career, then embarks on a parallel career in racing & excels at that. Oh, by the way he also started a business selling salad dressings that he concocted (all organic) & has donated almost $500 million of it's profits to charity.

[Stormy]

That's a classic, I will use that one!

Wow, just caught the end of "Winning, the racing life of Paul Newman", I've got to record the whole thing it is so good! You talk about being down to earth & humble, here's a guy who was already at the top in his acting career, then embarks on a parallel career in racing & excels at that. Oh, by the way he also started a business selling salad dressings that he concocted (all organic) & has donated almost $500 million of it's profits to charity.

Paul Newman was a great man. Thanks for reminding me to see that documentary.

[abbottcostello]

Paul Newman was a great man. Thanks for reminding me to see that documentary.

[mizf1]

It might be a bit easier to assess Vettel now, winning the Race of Champions againt other drivers in similar equpiment

[erinha]

Oh no. Is this ever gonna stop? I thought those days were behind us. Is this the rebirth of Ham-Alo alliance against Vet?

Oh dear, some so quick to leap to a headline. From another forum from a german who's read the original question.


As usual the context is missing. But no worries, I read parts of the original Interview ;)

If I recall it correctly he was asked about which driver he would take:"Normally as a team chief you would take the best drivers. That would be Vettel. I have big respect towards him, but I cant really assesse how good he is...." (that was more or less the context, dont remember exactly everything)

Actually he was praising Vettel and just saying that ultimately he cant judge how good he really is.

I hope that is the case. It correlates with my latest impression of Hamilton as well.

Still, I've never heard of Vettel criticizing another driver or making similar comments in such a manner for example. I mean, I try to understand what he said, but it's like he doesn't know the real meaning of what he is saying or how it comes across at least. It's like he isn't the native English speaker or something. Just this part is so unnecessary and makes it all annoying really: "He's never been in a team with someone like Fernando Alonso, but always with people like Mark Webber, who was not on his level, and Kimi Raikkonen, who is no longer at the peak of his performance." That is a very unnecessary explanation on top of whatever he's said. And how did he know that he wouldn't get beaten too badly by Alonso really? That's not realistic. Even though I get his self-belief and him saying "it would be hard to beat Fernando, but I also knew that I could do it."

Did we hear Vettel making such a comment on Hamilton this year:
"[He] misses four apexes on a single lap and still goes quickest. He goes off and he still goes quickest. And I think ‘Holy crap, I couldn’t do that lap even if I was on the limit’. His car is just that far ahead of everyone else’s. They made such a big step for some reason."
Yeah, that's not Vettel, but it is Lewis Hamilton. And he said it in 2012. The year they were the fastest actually but kept messing up the races.

[erinha]

It might be a bit easier to assess Vettel now, winning the Race of Champions againt other drivers in similar equpiment

What about Top Gear though? Ricciardo being at the top of that list was probably a bigger deal for some people than his 2014 campaign against Vettel Though there are also Hamilton and Webber in between them.
Is he worse than Hulkenberg, and is Button worse than Massa too?
Or maybe it's not that simple comparing drivers (people) actually. Lies, damned lies, and statistics. And these claims don't even make sense statistically. Never mind a claim on who's the better driver statistically, you cannot even say who's better with Top Gear's Reasonably Priced Car or a Formula 1 car based on a single instance.

Vettel's been winning that championship for years now. It's just the first time in individual category for some reason thou. Last 2 rounds he frightened his rivals off the track It was good fun.