You can argue that in 2010 he beat hamilton because he was faster than Massa if you catch my drift... but he certainly is one of the best most hard working drivers on the grid and hamilton on the other hand is going through a rough psycological period IMO and isnt definitly in is top form
It could also be argued that Hamilton hasn't improved much since his debut.
Something tells me Hamilton doesn't like the Pirellis and managing the tire wear. He doesn't seem to like fuel saving either. They should just give Hamilton a bigger tank.
Some interesting extra team radio from the Sky "Pitlane" stream:
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xp...rand-prix-pit-channel-team-radio-feature_auto
The most interesting part I found was about Schumacher's gearbox failure which they seemed to think was caused by Michael downshifting with the rears locking.
Oh and Hamilton wanting to pit 4 laps before the end!
I agree. I think Hamilton was really gunning for a race victory, especially after getting pole. It would send a pretty clear message to his detractors. A lot of people were expecting Red Bull to dominate once more; Hamilton might have gotten pole in Korea last year, but Vettel won the race. And even though Hamilton won in Abu Dhabi, it only came after Vettel wiped out on the first lap (and from the on-board cameras, Vettel was all but out of sight when his tyre went). Both episodes certainly showed that Hamilton had overcome his personal demons or whatever you want to call them, but as I've just demonstrated, it's easy to say "Well, this happened ..." when describing his few brighter moments in last 2011. To take pole position and win the race would have been a pretty clear message to all his doubters. He wanted to make it pretty clear that the old Lewis Hamilton - the Hamilton other drivers were afraid of because he could challenge them for position and win, rather than the Hamilton other drivers were afraid of because it might mean the end of their race - is back.I feel, even if Vettel hadn't lucked out on that safety car and overtaken Hamilton through that brilliant pit maneuver, Hamilton still wouldn't have been a happy camper on that podium. He would have smiled a bit, maybe, but he wouldn't have been as beamingly joyous as Button.
I wouldn't say that's "something wrong" with him. A lot of unscheduled stops are judgement calls on the part of the driver. And as we've seen before, long-term strategy is not Hamilton's strong point. Hungary last year was a perfect example of this - he reacted to rain straight away, but it didn't last long at all. Hamilton probably felt that his tyres were at the end of their life, and wanted to pit. I haven't heard the radio call, but the team probably convinced him that if he pitted, Webber would catch him, and if the tyres went off, Webber would catch him, so he might as well stay out and try and make it home. And as Hamilton no doubt knew, McLaren had the advantage over the Red Bulls in the second sector all weekend. If he was going to stay in front of Webber, then it was going to come down to the sector times he made in the second sector.
Like I said, winning the race would have sent a clear message to his detractors: that the old Hamilton was back. Finishing third after starting on pole left an element of doubt in place. Especially since he was beaten by Button - the first team-mate who has beaten Hamilton in the championship - and Vettel, the one man Hamilton wanted to beat to demonstrate that he was better. So of all the people who could have beaten Hamilton on Sunday, the two men who actually did were the two men that Hamilton needed to best himself.
The pit strategy was bad luck, yes. But I doubt Hamilton forgives himself for losing the drag race to the first corner. Once Button got by him, it was all over. Hamilton never showed any sign of being able to catch him.
But there seems to be something wrong with Hamilton... he wanted to pit with 4 laps to go (from that team radio stream) and after being told to stay on track and finish the race he does his best middle sector of the race!!!!????
According to this:
http://en.espnf1.com/malaysia/motorsport/story/73748.html
Hamilton had a clutch problem. Which explains why he experienced wheelspin after the start rather than on the starting line itself. The race pace was another issue, but he thinks they've got it.
That is... he thinks. We'll see in Malaysia.
A hole shot is a hole shot. It's what happens after that that matters, with equal cars no less.
Over the first lap Button put a 1 second lead into Hamilton. Over the next two laps he escaped the DRS zone and over the first stint had 3.5 Seconds.
Once they were both on the medium tyres, he extended the lead at will. Hamilton took some time back with a fastest lap but Button was always able to take the time back again and ended up with 10.5 seconds lead.
No wonder Hamilton looked like that on the podium. Can you imagine Alonso's face if Massa did that to him?
Button made Hamilton look like a number two driver in Australia and it is up to Hamilton to respond in Malaysia.
Button made Hamilton look like a number two driver in Australia and it is up to Hamilton to respond in Malaysia.
Hamilton is in fact the number two driver...
He's the No. 2 driver in the sense that Button has a lower number on his car, but I always got the feeling McLaren treated both drivers fairly equally. Yes, Hamilton is their little prodigy, and this showed in the Alonso days, but Button never seems to get the short end of the stick to the extent Mark does at Red Bull.
He's the No. 2 driver in the sense that Button has a lower number on his car, but I always got the feeling McLaren treated both drivers fairly equally. Yes, Hamilton is their little prodigy, and this showed in the Alonso days, but Button never seems to get the short end of the stick to the extent Mark does at Red Bull.
He's also a number 2 driver on ability it seems these days .
Button never seems to get the short end of the stick to the extent Mark does at Red Bull.
tribolikHamilton is in fact the number two driver...
Just noticed this.
McLaren treat all drivers equally. They do not have a number 1 and a number 2.