Lewis Hamilton's Canadian Grand Prix tactics provoke Niki Lauda attack

[racingbradley]

Lewis Hamilton’s attacking style was under fresh scrutiny after three-time world champion Niki Lauda warned that if the Briton continued to drive as he has been doing “it will result in someone getting killed”.
Lauda called on the governing body to set an example. “What Hamilton did there goes beyond all boundaries,” the Austrian said during his commentary on the German station RTL. “He is completely mad. If the FIA does not punish him, I do not understand the world any more. At some point there has to be an end to all the jokes. You cannot drive like this — as it will result in someone getting killed.”
Hamilton’s criticism of his fellow drivers and race stewards following two collisions at the Monaco Grand Prix a fortnight ago caused outrage, and these latest incidents are sure to add fuel to the debate.
The Briton complained in Monaco that he had been in to see the stewards five times in six races, joking ill-advisedly that they might be targeting him “because I am black”. The 26 year-old managed to keep his cool rather better this time around, and there was some sympathy for him given the conditions.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/motorsport/formulaone/8571739/Lewis-Hamiltons-Canadian-Grand-Prix-tactics-provoke-Niki-Lauda-attack.html

[Greig]

Bit OTT really :-)

[watto2]

Maybe a little strong but Emo Fittipaldi also said things along these lines and lets face it he and Niki were about when drivers did get hurt, so they know what's what. Lewis has been before the stewards after nearly every race so far this season. How about a short suspension?
Bit OTT really :-)

[racingbradley]

. How about a short suspension?

I really believe Lewis is very stressed and just goes for it believing he has nothing to lose -----well there is his reputation after all. :-E
Uncle Ron (saw he was there yesterday) is not in control now and uncle Martin is just letting Jenson race. Poor Lewis needs a job description comparable to that of 2007.
Maybe a short suspension would give him time to think and take a long hard look at himself. ;-)
He needs to chill :-)

[REDARMYSOJA]

Bit OTT really :-)

Yeah, probably so, but Niki earned his attitude. I say he has the right to rant.

[Greig]

TBH I don't think Lewis done much wrong in Canada, the one with Webber is a run of the mill accident in F1, we seen a lot of them yesterday, and Button was pretty much the same, Lewis really had nowhere to go once he committed to attempting the pass.

[REDARMYSOJA]

TBH I don't think Lewis done much wrong in Canada, the one with Webber is a run of the mill accident in F1, we seen a lot of them yesterday, and Button was pretty much the same, Lewis really had nowhere to go once he committed to attempting the pass.

Yeah, have to agree, other than perhaps he was a bit over-optimistic he didn't really do anything that bad. But I think the headlines of that article are misleading in that both Niki and Emmo made those statements before the race yesterday.

[Greig]

Ah right well yeah that's fair enough, ban him :-D

[REDARMYSOJA]

Ah right well yeah that's fair enough, ban him :-D

Lauda or Lewis? :-)

[Ken]

I totaly agree with Lauda for once.

So far we have had to endure the excuse that is his "exciting " style of driving that we all love to watch.

I am sorry but I believe Hamilton is so full of this he is now Over driving, in that he could make a half chance work but now hes trying to make quarter chances work in desperation to get back on top.

Sadly this could end very poorly and another driver could get very badly injured, some one really needs to get Hamilton focused again on the difference between racing and lunacy.

[Suzie]

I think Lewis needs to keep his head down and get out of the celeb lifestyle for a bit.
He brings a lot of this on himself.

[Rob]

I think Lewis needs to keep his head down and get out of the celeb lifestyle for a bit.
He brings a lot of this on himself.

:thumb got his new funky management team to thank for that.

The accident with his team mate, was abit, oh no!!!. If he actually thought about the bigger picture rather than " i have better traction than you, i will give it ago RIGHT here" he could of stayed behind and nailled Jenny into turn 1 or even hold outside line and have the inside line in to 2. Sure Jenny would of given him the room to do it. As we have seen in past couple races, they do race hard and give each other, just, enough room.

Think, he had his "homeys" in garage so had to give them a show, because they came to see him race. :roll

[scuderiafan]

I totaly agree with Lauda for once.

So far we have had to endure the excuse that is his "exciting " style of driving that we all love to watch.

I am sorry but I believe Hamilton is so full of this he is now Over driving, in that he could make a half chance work but now hes trying to make quarter chances work in desperation to get back on top.

Sadly this could end very poorly and another driver could get very badly injured, some one really needs to get Hamilton focused again on the difference between racing and lunacy.

i missed this moment. anyone have a vid please?

[Jose Lorca]

One thing I think we can all agree on is that Lewis Hamilton drives too aggressively. Despite paying the price for his bad driving, he continues to come up with this "Im putting on a show for the fans" nonsense. Does anyone seriously believe Lewis is thinking about his fans just before he takes another driver out?

This reluctant to calm down a bit on the track will ultimately lead to more damaged parts in other races, although I am struggling to understand why Lauda believes that Lewis' driving "will result in someone getting killed". If Lewis was driving in the same days as Lauda, maybe the comment would make a bit more sense.

I will add that if Lewis ends up taking out a driver or get's penalised/reprimanded at Valencia, I think Jean Todt should consider giving Lewis a 1 race ban, because I feel that's the only way that Lewis will finally get the message and stop being so aggressive. We know that he can't see the fault in his driving from after the Monaco GP, so what guarantee do the FIA have that Lewis will calm down a bit? I think it's clear after he spun Webber that his apology letter was written to avoid further punishment, rather than genuine remorse.

[sagi58]

...Does anyone seriously believe Lewis is thinking about his fans just before he takes another driver out?

This reluctant to calm down a bit on the track will ultimately lead to more damaged parts in other races, although I am struggling to understand why Lauda believes that Lewis' driving "will result in someone getting killed"...
Personally, I do think that it's "possible" that someone can be seriously hurt! Freak accidents happen!
Ask Massa, ask Kubica, as well as, who only knows how many others! What concerns me, most of all,
is his blatant disrespect and disregard for anyone else who is on the track. Why does he do it, according
to him? Because, apparently, he's more passionate about racing!! Or because, according to him, he's
better at it than anyone else?? Are you kidding me?? This is arrogance pure and simple!!


Hamilton said that he was not about to change his driving style. "In all honesty I will never stop racing the way I do. It's the way I do it. That's what got me here, it is the way I am. I don't do it to offend people or to hurt anyone. I do it because I love racing.
" I feel I can do it better than others. If it ever comes to a stage where I had to just cruise around and drive for fourth or fifth place it would not excite me and I wouldn't stay around for that. I am here to race and win. If I have to lose that passion I would blow all the racing."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2011/may/30/lewis-hamilton-monaco-grand-prix-f1

[steelstallions]

If they were racing in the cars Lauda had, then you would have to agree with him. The cars of his day were dangerous and the scars he bares from nearly being burned to death are a lasting reminder of how dangerous it was.
He should have toned it down, just saying he might injure some or himself would have been a strong enough comment. My fear is, Lauda is becoming a bit of a rent a mouth and making more and more outrageous comments.
He has come out with tabloid headlines a little too often lately and is eroding respect he fought hard to earn with such headlines.

[impactX]

Lauda needs to stop being racist. :-D

[johncnet]

Lauda or Lewis? :-)

both of them:-D:-D:-D

[EL NANO]

TBH I don't think Lewis done much wrong in Canada, the one with Webber is a run of the mill accident in F1, we seen a lot of them yesterday, and Button was pretty much the same, Lewis really had nowhere to go once he committed to attempting the pass.
Agreed, HAMster is dangerous and arrogant at times but we need drivers like this in F1 ....

[EL NANO]

Looking back Nikki was a fast and dangerous too maybe he is just getting older and grumpier ... If he was still racing he would do the same problably..

[REDARMYSOJA]

Looking back Nikki was a fast and dangerous too maybe he is just getting older and grumpier ... If he was still racing he would do the same problably..

I've never seen where Niki Lauda was considered a dangerous driver. If you have some evidence saying so, I'd like to see it.

[watto2]

Sorry to labour the point, but, in today's Daily Mail (sorry, someone has to read it) Lewis's dad is quoted as implying there is nothng wrong with Lewis's attitude and he should continue to drive the way he does . He also reckons he could become WDC this season.

[Hermann]

Sorry to labour the point, but, in today's Daily Mail (sorry, someone has to read it) Lewis's dad is quoted as implying there is nothng wrong with Lewis's attitude and he should continue to drive the way he does . He also reckons he could become WDC this season.

Ask any sociopath and he will tell you there is nothing wrong with his attitude.

[Ken]

Ask any sociopath and he will tell you there is nothing wrong with his attitude.

OOO man that is low but apt.

:rotfl:rotfl:rotfl:rotfl

[scuderiafan]

Hamilton: Only criticism from Senna could 'affect' me


Mark Webber has become the latest F1 driver to criticise Lewis Hamilton's level of on-track aggression this season, accusing him of repeatedly 'finding ways to trip over [his] own shoelaces' – but the McLaren-Mercedes star has revealed that he 'really couldn't give a toss' what others think of him and that the only person that could ever have 'affected' him with such words would have been the late, great Ayrton Senna.

After contentiously colliding with Felipe Massa and subsequently Pastor Maldonado in Monaco, Hamilton then went on to bang wheels with Webber himself and even his own team-mate Jenson Button in Montreal, on the latter occasion precipitating his retirement from the grand prix and in so doing surrendering potentially vital world championship points.

In both races, the 2008 F1 World Champion found himself hauled up before FIA stewards for his indiscretions, but he has since vowed never to moderate his famously uncompromising, hard-charging style. Webber believes the mistakes are a clear sign that Hamilton is struggling to handle the pressure of trying to take on runaway pace-setter Sebastian Vettel in inferior machinery.

“Any sportsman can relate to that little dip, whether it is in form or making the best decisions in stressful situations,” the Australian told British newspaper The Sun. “Guys that should be challenging for podiums every weekend and who are finding ways to trip over their own shoelaces, it will be questioned.

“Off the back of the tough weekend he (Hamilton) had in Monaco, Canada was a repeat. It was clear the race was going to be a long one for all of us, so trying something in the first three seconds was a bit bizarre.”

Hamilton, however, has brushed off such censure – as well as cautionary remarks from the likes of F1 legends Niki Lauda and Sir Stirling Moss, the former describing him as a danger to his fellow competitors and warning that his actions could 'result in someone getting killed' [see separate story – click here] – by underlining that the only person he would truly listen to in such circumstances would be his racing hero Senna, tragically killed at Imola in 1994.

“What people say doesn't affect me,” the 26-year-old told The Sun, “but if Senna had been around, I think I'd have been deeply affected by it because what he did and what he said had a huge amount of meaning for me. People do forget the good things you do and the good races you have had; people forget that I was there in 2007 up against Fernando Alonso and had some mega, mega races with him.”

“It's the way the world works,” he added, speaking to London's Evening Standard and claiming that comments such as Eddie Irvine's scathing 'losing the plot' observation are like water off a duck's back to him. “Everyone loves you when you're doing well; if Michael Schumacher was winning races now, everyone would be praising him, wanting to be around him, the same if it was Heikki Kovalainen or whoever.

“At the moment, Sebastian Vettel is winning and so everyone's loving him – but just because of what people say and how they act, that doesn't make me any worse a driver. You get tough. It's like if you fall down and bruise your knee, you get up and get stronger. What people say doesn't affect my life – it has no bearing. What Niki Lauda thinks about me, I really couldn't give a toss.

“Immediately I get in the car, I just think positive things and I'm cocooned in my own world. I don't think about anything else. Every elite athlete has to be strong and make sure not to let things get to them out of the car, but we're all human beings after all and sometimes they do get to you. In Monaco, things got to me but at least I didn't deny it and I learned from that.

“My judgment could be better, maybe. I don't think it's my aggressive style that gets me into trouble. Sometimes, maybe, I don't have the best judgment and sometimes maybe I'm in the wrong place at the wrong time – but the reality is that my priority in F1 is to be the best driver of all time, and that takes dedication.”


seems he really has had a meltdown :Hmm

http://www.crash.net/f1/news/170929/1/hamilton_only_criticism_from_senna_could_affect_me .html

[Ken]

Sounds like he is praying for divine intervention from beyond the grave to help him. If that is so he needs a holiday a ban for a few races would help him more :redcard

[sagi58]

It does sound like a mantra, of sorts, eh? :roll
I wonder if he actually believes what he's saying, or if it's just "good" P.R.?:Hmm

[Kingdom Hearts]

This kid is out of control or his brain melted down, he said that the only critic that could affect him is Sennas. For his mental sake let's hope he have a good GP this weekend.

[sagi58]

Would he have even been old enough to appreciate Senna, first hand?:-??

[ferrari4life]

maybe bruno senna can step up and tell him him a thing or two

[racingbradley]

maybe bruno senna can step up and tell him him a thing or two

I should think so :-) after all he didn't mention Ayrton!!!! :lol

[Katu]

okay, that means criticizing him is waste of words

[M.K]

What is with him and Senna...I mean he never even met the guy. What if Rubens would tell that "Ayrton would never do that" and he knew him, then what?

[Ken]

maybe bruno senna can step up and tell him him a thing or two

Of course he wont ;-)

He will be having the laugh of a life time watching the Wannabee :lol

[Alonsomaniac]

Why do I get the feeling Lewis mentaly never really made it to adulthood?
This is a 16 year old talking.
If you compare his words to the comments Fernando gives about the situation of not being able to fight for the championships right now, I can only conclude that Fernando is a man and Lewis is a boy......he may be fast, but this is not a driver the Scuderia should ever have to represent the Prancing Horse.

[sagi58]

And here is his rebuttal, such as it were:


Hamilton: Villeneuve and Mansell ‘should keep opinions to themselves’ (http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2011/07/07/77/) p.s. the title is misleading, as he doesn't mention anyone by name...
somehow that seems worse!!:Hmm

Here's the article and the interview clip on BBC Sports:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/formula_one/14044833.stm