"Hamilton sets his sights on the title" , can he do it?

[m7ammed]

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we've got about 30 days until the next race, so lets stir things up a bit until then , can Hamilton do it? did any other rookie before win a championship on his first season?

for the first question I think his chances are good if he keeps his performance consistant , but I don't see that happeneing for some reason , in one of season races he is going to make a rookie mistake and it might only take that race to demolish his chances ... On the other hand Alonso , Kimi , and Massa I think are pressured to performe better , seeing as a Rokkie in his first season has beat them all (Alonso and Kimi in Bahrain ) , Massa in Sepang .....

anybody know id anybody won the championship on his first season?

 

[Pebb]

I hope Hamilton wins it, because he is driving like he is more experienced and older then his current status and age.

 

[daan]

He has to win a race first.

Technically, the only man to win the title in his first season was Farina back in 1950, but then, it was everyone's first season! I think the closest after that has been Villeneuve in '96.

 

[<_Spike_>]

Not so sure, I can see him being a contender, but whether he can do it? May be a bit too much for his first season with Alonso, Raikkonen and Massa all still in it.

 

[Lee]

Well it doesn't appear McLaren will be ordering any specific orders to Lewis for now:

"We don't want to put any additional pressure on him though," he added. "He's dealing with it all amazingly and he'll want to win the next race in Spain. He will win raes this year and there's no reason he can't challenge for the championship."

Story

So the team wont be holding him back, McLaren are obviously determined on the R&D side of things, it all seems to be set well for Lewis but wether he can actually take the title? He needs to consistantly edge out Alonso over the next European races where Fernando is typically strong.

With the critics answered way back in Melbourne, Lewis almost has nothing else to prove this season, he's fast and he can overtake, if anything he probably has the least pressure out of the top 4.

 

[MustangSVT]

There's no way that Hamilton can edge out Alonso in the long run over the whole season. If he does win the championship, I'll bite my tongue, but as good as he is, he's not a champion (yet anyway). He might win some races maybe just like Villeneuve did in his first year.

 

[Slick Rick]

I dont think Hamilton should push for the title yet, this is only his first year remember. I think its more important for him to finish every race and with some decent points. Maybe if he caries on like this he will be more than ready to go for the title next year or the year after.

 

[livemusic]

I think he has as much of a chance as Alonso, Kimi and Massa do. It shouldn't happen, but we know the UK media will be all over him, if it isn't already. McLaren might not pressure him, but his country will.

 

[<_Spike_>]

True, the media is a big enemy for young new drivers to such sports (and other sports) like Hamilton, which is a big shame. Hopefully however, he can keep his feet on the ground and his head on straight with the help of his father (who may very well do for him what Button's has done for him, joining him every step of the way he can) and of course with the help of the man who made it possible, Ron Dennis

 

[Sureboss]

I hope Hamilton wins it, because he is driving like he is more experienced and older then his current status and age.

Excluding having more lock ups than a garage compound?

Hamiltons been impressive, but he does lock up the wheels too much, he'll learn and it won't take long for it to go, but one day he'll do it and lose his nose and wing.

As for the title? It's potentially a 4 way race imo.

 

[JohnBM01]

Well... I don't know about this year. He can certainly put up a fight and can race like a champion. So far, he's had an aspect about him that equals success on any level- consistency. It's no fluke when you can finish on the podium for the first three races. Do I think he will win the title? I say- eventually. I don't know about this year, unless the chips really fall in his favor throughout the remainder of this season. I say there is a 40% chance he'll become F1 World Champion this year. I like him, but I don't know about a title this year. His highest finish is second(?). I say there's an 80% chance he wins at least one race this year.

Mr. Hamilton has all goods. Question is, can he get it done when it's game time? He's done good so far. He has a chance to be great. And if he keeps this up for years to come in F1, he'll be one of the greatest. And that just how it goes.

 

[Scaff]

Excluding having more lock ups than a garage compound?

Hamiltons been impressive, but he does lock up the wheels too much, he'll learn and it won't take long for it to go, but one day he'll do it and lose his nose and wing.

A touch harsh as he didn't lock the fronts up significantly more than Massa did, what I did notice was that ITV's wonder commentator (not) James Allen blamed Hamilton for at least one serious lock up that wasn't even his (it was Massa's).

Keep in mind the conditions at the track, fairly high winds and a fair amount of sand being put onto the track are far from ideal conditions for threshold braking, the occasional lock-up something both the front runners were doing. ITV's footage was also constantly re-running the same lock-up over and over again (mainly because it was from an excellent angle).

Had the lock-ups been significantly worse than of the other front runners the resulting flatspot(s) would have had a noticeable effect on his lap-times in comparison.

Regards

Scaff

 

[m7ammed]

Keep in mind the conditions at the track, fairly high winds and a fair amount of sand being put onto the track are far from ideal conditions for threshold braking....

oh thats an understatment , when we went that morning (morning of the race) me and my uncle were thinking that if it stayed like this the race was going to be one of werdist races F1 drivers might have , as I'm sure they never have seen anything like it .........

a pic from that morning , don't think thats fog its not , its dust

 

[TheBigMan045]

If he continues his run of points finishes and has a couple of wins he can take the title, Ferrari has the speed of McLaren so the end result could be quite close and when was the last time four drivers are in the running for the title? 1999 when McLaren last won a title

 

[-alex-]

i think if he continues getting points and bieng consistant,He has quite a good chance of winning,however he will need to learn how to break without locking up

 

[Aquendwato]

Confidence is never a bad thing.

 

[GilesGuthrie]

Excluding having more lock ups than a garage compound?

Hamiltons been impressive, but he does lock up the wheels too much, he'll learn and it won't take long for it to go, but one day he'll do it and lose his nose and wing.

As for the title? It's potentially a 4 way race imo.

i think if he continues getting points and bieng consistant,He has quite a good chance of winning,however he will need to learn how to break without locking up

I think that this talk of locking wheels is a little nonsensical. Anyone who has seen BMW318ciC's photo, or the Sunday morning GP2 race, or who has a clue about the desert will know that the surface was highly unpredictable. Hamilton was running flat out (and let's not forget: dropping his double-World-Champion team mate at 0.7s per lap) in close formation with another car, which was (given that Massa was piloting it) also locking wheels consistently. Then, in the 3rd stint, Hamilton was back on the pace, lapping faster than everyone else, trying to catch and pass Massa, and was therefore extracting the very most from the car.

I saw perhaps two time-losing lockups in the whole race, which - according to the laptimes were probably worth around a second. Pretty small beer, in other words.

Where were the lockups after lap 3 in Malaysia?

I think that if you have to look to a locked wheel here and there as the inspiration for your criticism of a 3-race rookie, you're clutching at straws.

As to whether he's a championship contender, I can't really see it. Raikkonen and Alonso are the two strongest drivers, and they are in the two best cars. Yes, Hamilton beat them both on Sunday, and he also beat Raikkonen in Malaysia, but I see those as being less common results in 2007 than was the outcome of the Australia race. My guess is that Hamilton will be a relatively lonely 3rd in the Championship come journey's end.

 

[Sureboss]

I'm not saying it's a really major problem, but it needs correcting imo.

 

[Blake]

As Giles said, I can only remember seeing two or three lock-ups for Hamilton during the entire race. I do, however, remember seeing the same one 6 times over the course of the race.

I think his biggest problem is not the occasional lock-up, but that his pace swings pretty wildly depending on the set of tyres he&#8217;s using. Seen it in all three races, so far.

 

[Scaff]

As Giles said, I can only remember seeing two or three lock-ups for Hamilton during the entire race. I do, however, remember seeing the same one 6 times over the course of the race.

Quite agree (and said above), the footage shown on ITV in the UK replayed the same lock-up over and over again. The problem was also compounded by ITV's resident F1 pundit (and generally disliked fool) James Allen, who kept twittering on about lock-ups, half of which were not even Hamilton.

His singular ability to commentate with any form of sense has even prompted his own T-shirt (warning link contains a rude word not allowed by the AUP - you have been warned and I absolve myself of all liability should you be mentally scared by it).

He does provide some moments of amusement when his often bizzare statements remove Martin Brundle's ability to speak.

I think his biggest problem is not the occasional lock-up, but that his pace swings pretty wildly depending on the set of tyres he’s using. Seen it in all three races, so far.

I would agree he is getting used to having to run differing compounds in the same race (but getting used to it quickly), but the car does also seem to be very sensitive to fuel loads, being far more competitive (in comparison to the Ferrari) on lighter loads, that when fully fuelled.


Regards

Scaff

 

[JohnBM01]

I've said "not this year" about Lewis Hamilton's chances of notching up his first F1 title. Do you agree with me, or do you think he could lock up title #1 this year?

 

[kjb]

I think he has a good chance to win but I don't think he will.

 

[Dougboy]

He has a chance of winning but i doubt he will be able to do it. It just seems too good to be true if he does.

Right now, everybody hs hyped up about Hamilton and saying how great of a driver he will become. Then again, Villeneuve was in a similar situation back in 96, look where he is now. Sure he won a championship but he is definitely not one of the great drivers, like Senna and Schumacher

 

[XGT Taipan]

I don't mean to sound like I'm not in favour of Hamilton winning the title, but in all fairness, I think the experience of Alonso and Raikkonen will topple him when it gets to some of the tougher GP's.

However I was very impressed with the way he handled Massa at the Malaysian GP, but then again Massa is a twit who gets very hot headed when things dont go his way, and was always prone to make a mistake.

I'm putting my money on Kimi for the title, Fernando second (about 10 points behind), and Lewis 3rd a little further back.

 

[TheCracker]

I've said "not this year" about Lewis Hamilton's chances of notching up his first F1 title. Do you agree with me, or do you think he could lock up title #1 this year?

After just three races i think it's a little too early in the season to start penciling him in as a title contender. But from what i've seen he certainly seems to personally have what it takes; natural speed, a clear head in potential win/lose situations and the ability to really push a car upto and beyond its limits. There are so many factors in winning a championship though and being a great driver is just one of them. You need to be in the best, or next best car. You need better reliability than your nearest competitors and most of all you need to beat your team mate. Hamilton's team mate is a recent double world champion, it's going to be tough for him to overcome that. Mclarens car at the moment is probably slightly behind the best (Ferrari) but they also have BMW snapping at their heals too. One thing Hamilton does have going for him is a greater familiarity with the European circuits than he did with the first three races of the season. For me, the next 3 races will be a make or break time for Lewis as far as the championship goes. If Ferrari continue to have a better car then it will be hard for either McLaren driver to surpass the Ferrari drivers points tally later in the season.

 

[Pyrelli]

I have little doubt that Hamilton will at least be a strong challenger for the title if not this seasons world champion - even if he doesn't I reckon he'll at least beat Alonso in the final rankings.

Whilst I fully agree and appreciate the fact that experience is important in challenging for the title, I think few would disagree that Hamilton is in a significant minority of drivers who have entered into f1 driving a highly competitive car. When others entered into f1 chances are they were running uncompetitive cars that never let them race to or show their true colours; I don't think it's just coincidence that in Alonso's debut season with Minardi he finished 23rd, then with Renault he finishes 6th. I accept that Schumacher managed to basically turn around Ferrari's fortunes but then again he was a truely exceptional driver (though a little dirty). What i'm saying is that maybe the only reason why others have the 'experience' is because they went into f1 driving comparitively rubbish cars, though suprisingly well, to get into a better team.

Just to set the record straight i'm not comparing Hamilton to Schumacher, but he is a natural talent and really has nothing to lose. The first races are a statement of his abilities as a driver and the pressure on the more experienced drivers' reputations not to be outdone by the rookie is likely to cause frustration. If Hamilton's success doesn't shoot Alonso in the foot he'll do it himself in the car watching the teams 'second driver' leaving him behind. Hamilton has probably pleasantly suprised himself with how well hes done, no doubt encouraging him to aim higher and I certainly didn't expect to see what he has achieved (perhaps Ron Dennis did) but I wish him the best.

I know it sounds like i'm licking his behind and being from the U.K probably doesn't help, but my answer to the question "can he do it" - well it's a bob the builder answer really - yes he can!!! (I'm 18 by the way and no I don't watch that programme )

 

[prisonermonkeys]

I think it's very ambitious of Hamilton to shoot for the title in his debut yaer, but I also think it's very possible that he can do it. After all, which rookie has ever had better hardware under him? It's only a matter of time before Hamilton takes his first victory; I'm certainly expecting him to do so before the mid-season mark.

 

[Omnis]

Why wouldn't he set his sights on the title? If the goal of racing is to win, what makes people so skeptical about a rookie doing just that? Rookie or not, he is driving well. I wouldn't be at all surprised if he won the championship.

 

[niky]

If you're not racing to win, you're not racing... period.

Look at guys like Coulthard... guys who race like every race is their last. That kind of guts takes podiums in cars that shouldn't, logically, even be able to finish races, let alone score points.

If you're a Ferrari or McLaren driver right now, and you aren't trying to win the championship, there's something wrong with you... and it looks like all four guys (Kimi, Felipe, Fernando and Lewis) are hungry as hell for that title.

 

[Small_Fryz]

Michael had an impressive 1st year (1992) with bennaton considering the car he was in.

Halmiton is a gifted driver with a golden opportunity. It will be very interesting to see how all of this folds out.