The two sides of Lewis Hamilton

Text: Brendan Thomas. Photos by Gallo Images/Getty Images/AFP

Source: This article is taken from the Augsut 2011 issue of Sports Illustrated

Every now and then a sport will yield a young star whose talents on the field of play are overshadowed by their antics off it: Shane Warne’s histrionics, Andre Agassi’s fashion statements and Wayne Rooney’s free speech. We wonder what advice they’d give to F1 bad-boy Lewis Hamilton. By Brendan Thomas

It’s a grey, gloomy day and the weather is foul; like Lewis’ mood. He’s still reeling from his disastrous Canadian Grand Prix, which ended prematurely when he crashed into his McLaren teammate Jenson Button. He was expected to excel at Montréal, with the street-track nature of the circuit suiting his attacking style, but as he’s been increasingly finding, one small error can quickly escalate into a disaster.

Two days after Montréal, he’s made the short journey south to Watkins Glen International raceway in upstate New York, the home of the US Grand Prix in the 1970s. In a publicity stunt he’s swapping cars with two-time NASCAR champion Tony Stewart and as soon as he hears the meaty roar of the V8 Chevy Impala fire up, his mood lifts, and once he’s behind the wheel, he can’t stop smiling. This is what he loves best.

At the end of his demonstration laps, he heads to the start/finish line, mashes the throttle and completes a couple of burnouts in front of the crowd, who go wild with delight. Then he stands on the door of the car and waves, soaking up the adulation. NASCAR is all about the show, the star names and big business. There’s less politics, pressure and inequality in machinery, although there is nothing like the prestige and the global attention of F1. But could Lewis, who’s already achieved his life’s goal of becoming a world champion, be tempted to make the switch one day?

“I tell you what, with the problems I’ve been having recently, I think change might not be a bad thing,” he says laughing.

“I felt just like a kid today. Driving in Formula 1 is great, but the competitive side of it is so serious, plus after the tough weekend I’ve had… In the old days I know they would allow drivers to do different classes in different cars and it would be cool to do a weekend over in NASCAR. I’ve not been to a race but I would love to go and have a look.”

One aspect that might appeal is the potential to cash in on his ‘brand’ and add to his current take home of around $30-million. F1 drivers are contractually entwined to their team’s sponsors, with a number handing all their image rights over to the team, but one look at the $20-million that Dale Earnhardt Jr receives in merchandising sales alone (and he hasn’t won a race in three years!) – proves that your brand in the States is big business.

It’s probably no coincidence that a month after signing a management contract with Simon Fuller’s XIX Entertainment (of David Beckham fame), Lewis has found a part – playing himself – in the new Hollywood animated sequel to Cars. He’s a McLaren-esque GT car complete with a toothy gap in the radiator. Kerr-ching!

Currently Forbes puts Hamilton among the richest top 20 sportsmen in the world, but at 26, there is just Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo who is younger than him on that list. The future potential earnings for Lewis are huge, but according to his father – who managed him up to around 16 months ago – the young Brit isn’t solely focused on the money.

“Lewis would much rather be a multiple world champion than advertising products that are not associated with F1,” says Anthony Hamilton. “The deal with XIX is not about money, he has a complicated life, is always in demand and also he needs someone who can manage, maintain and build his brand. I’m not a marketing person, it’s something I could never do.”

With Hollywood calling, an ex-Pussycat Doll girlfriend – Nicole Scherzinger, who has a burgeoning TV career in the States to look after herself – and pop stars he can now call friends, Lewis’ life has changed beyond recognition since he sensationally broke into F1 back in 2007. But why has his aim to win multiple world championships hit the skids and what is the reason for having so many dramas on track at the moment?

“Driving in Formula 1 is great, but the competitive side is so serious…”

A Charmed life

Born in the commuter belt, north of London in Stevenage, Lewis Carl Hamilton didn’t have a particularly privileged background, but neither was it impoverished. His dad worked in the IT department for British Rail, his parents split when he was very young and so he’d see his old man at weekends where they had a shared passion for racing. He showed talent in karting, was notably very late on the brakes and success naturally followed the determined pair.

At 10 years old the confident Lewis approached McLaren boss Ron Dennis at an awards ceremony and told him that one day he would drive one of his cars…

With a pat on the head, Ron, humoured him and said to give him a call in nine years time. Just twelve months later, with another championship under his belt, Lewis spoke to Ron. Realising this kid had persistence Dennis began to help out the young racer financially.

After winning every major championship en route to F1, he was given the chance to join the big time in 2007. And it was quite possibly the most spectacular debut season a rookie has ever had in the history of the sport, because he was almost champion that year and unbelievably had the measure of his teammate, two-time title-winner Fernando Alonso. Lewis Hamilton had arrived.

Sensational wins in the rain, where his yellow helmet appeared out of the spray and gloom drew comparisons with the legendary Ayrton Senna, and while he perhaps doesn’t have the charisma of the great Brazilian, he does share similar aspects: blinding speed, commitment to his craft and holds strong religious beliefs. There are also those moments of injustice, where he’s been at the receiving end of criticism or a penalty when it hasn’t necessarily been his fault. Perhaps it isn’t any surprise that Lewis, seemingly the obsessive outsider, studied Ayrton when he was younger.

“I had so many videos of his that I would watch the moment I got home from school,” says Lewis. “I observed his style, the way he approached things and I’ve experienced similar situations to him. Maybe, subconsciously, by watching him I naturally progressed into being an aggressive driver and I feel very privileged and honoured when people put my name in the same sentence as his. I will always aspire to be like him.”

The only downside is that, although Ayrton was a great racer, he was also one of the most ruthless on the track. He’d think nothing of veering his nemesis Alain Prost towards the pitwall, or spearing him off the track when he didn’t get his own way. And despite his charm off the track, on it, the moves were dangerous and reckless. Great drivers don’t need to resort to those tactics and yet it seems, Lewis has appeared to make a lot of wheel-to-wheel contact this year, something that he hasn’t done up to this point in his career.

Lewis would argue that other drivers aren’t giving him racing room, others would say he’s too aggressive. But the fact that he’s having a go delights his fans who say he’s a joy to watch. But those spectators that see him take out their favourite driver, cast him as enemy No 1. Love him or hate him, one thing you can’t deny is that controversy has always plagued him.

“He needs to realise that it isn’t always the case of being the hot rod.” John Watson

“Is it because I’m black?”

In his first year in F1, friction developed between him and Alonso in the middle of McLaren’s annus horribilis, where the team were fined $100-million for the Spygate farrago. The following year Lewis was stripped of his brilliant win in the Belgian GP after it was judged he failed to correctly yield to Kimi Räikkönen. He was in hot water again at the 2009 Australian GP, dubbed ‘Liegate’ where he wasn’t entirely truthful with the stewards after an incident behind the safety car – then 12 months later he was stopped by police leaving the Melbourne track after he ‘hooned’ a Merc road car across a junction. (‘Hoon’ is Australian slang for ‘behave like a bit of a poephol’ – Ed.)

So the question is: why does such a talented driver keep getting in trouble with the authorities? Lewis was asked this question by the BBC after this season’s chaotic Monaco GP, where he received a drive-through-penalty for clashing with both Felipe Massa and Pastor Maldonaldo. “Maybe it’s because I’m black,” he joked. But that didn’t amuse and he fell into more hot water.

John Watson, a five-time grand prix winner and former McLaren driver believes that the problem lies with a lot of dedicated sportsman who enter their chosen profession at a very young age, before they’ve had time to experience and mature in the real world.

“When Lewis made his debut it was such an unbelievable season, that it’s very difficult to know where he could go from there.

But I think he needs to realise that it isn’t always the case of being the hot rod, he needs to learn from his craft that sometimes there are times when you don’t need to prove you are the quickest thing on four wheels. Look at 2010, it was his fourth year in F1 and he started to have a number of issues outside the cockpit.

“There were problems surrounding the role of his father in his life, distractions from his personal life, the issues in Melbourne with the police,” says Watson.

“You imagine that sudden wealth and fortune has taken him to Geneva, Switzerland and while that might seem nice, it’s a regimented country, it’s not home, it might be a bit lonely because you can’t pop and see mum and dad or the guys in the factory, plus he’s in a relationship with someone who is also very famous, has her own agenda and maybe there isn’t quite the stability in his private life when he gets home from the track.

“So I think a variety of things conspired to upset his momentum last year and maybe he wasn’t as happy as he was when he first came to F1 in 2007.

“I think there’s a few problems with having sportsmen that are so young. If you’ve spent your whole life karting, being at racing circuits then maybe you don’t go through normal adolescent behaviour, you don’t quite grow up, or you’re not a completely rounded individual and that can cause you to do things you wouldn’t normally do at a later age. But it’s understandable given the unbelievable amount of pressure that’s put on young drivers today.”

It’s fair to say that his McLaren teammate Jenson Button, who is five years older than Lewis, experienced a similar problem when he entered the sport at a young age. But as the years passed, so did JB’s maturity and now he can probably teach Lewis a thing or two about controlling that impetuosity. Watson agrees: “Jenson has a much more relaxed personality and that comes out on the track compared to the hard-thrashing with the car that Lewis does. And actually we saw in the Canadian GP that it was all about dealing with the conditions and producing a measured drive. That’s what we saw JB do and he used his experience to produce a performance that day.”

Likewise Jenson raced in F1 for many years with a car that wasn’t the class of the field. Weekend followed weekend and he was lucky to score points, or grab the odd podium. The years at Honda and BAR were character building and when he had the car to win the title – with Brawn GP – he had developed the maturity and experience to put together a title-winning campaign.

Contrast that with Lewis who came into the sport with a car that could win races straightaway (very few rookies get that opportunity) and now he’s behind a Red Bull (and the design genius of Adrian Newey) which has an on-track advantage – Lewis is getting increasingly frustrated that he doesn’t have the tools to do the job. He’s giving his maximum, but the car isn’t capable of consistently getting the results he demands from his driving. As a result his little meeting with Red Bull boss Christian Horner is a natural reaction to his situation – but in reality there is only one team that has consistently won titles over the last 30 years – and that’s McLaren. This is where a wise management strategy, from someone who knows the sport would be more useful a guide for him than an entertainment expert. But, given the racing brain that Lewis has – he should realise that himself, or if he doesn’t, he will regret it when he looks back later in his life as he’s circling those NASCAR tracks…

Are egos a hindrance to talent?

Here are some who faired better than others in their time in F1

Juan Pablo Montoya

As the darling of IndyCar racing, Montoya was expected to be a real threat to Michael Schumacher in the 2000s. Indeed some performances were startling, but then in others it appeared that he just couldn’t be bothered. Celebrating a win at a McDonald’s was the last straw and F1 and Montoya split ways, the latter content with the larger meal portions he’d find in a NASCAR paddock.

Michael Andretti

As the son of the legendary Mario Andretti, Michael had a huge reputation to live up to. Over in the States he was a top-line driver, champion and decided in ’93 that it was time to make it in F1. His first error was to stay in the US and commute to the races in Europe. He didn’t think it was necessary to absorb himself into the sport and as a result spent a lot of the time in the barriers. He vanished back to the US with his tail between his legs before the season was over.

Eddie Irvine

He arrived on the F1 scene with incredible impudence and had the audacity to close a lap deficit between himself and Ayrton Senna in a Suzuka rainstorm in 1993. That led to Senna coming to find him to bop him one on the nose after the race. Irvine’s speed led to a seat at Ferrari, but as number two to Michael Schumacher he was always up against it. Still, he enjoyed the lifestyle, the toy cars, the flat in Milan and the bumper pay cheque move to Jaguar.

Nigel Mansell

Mansell was never shy about telling anyone he was quicker than they were, often to the detriment of the team and everyone around him. When a team-mate complained that their car wasn’t as quick as Nigel’s – he’d always make a point of out-qualifying them in their car. He retired from the sport a couple of times, each time signing a new deal just a few months later. But his demands twice led to a split from Williams and he also found himself too large to fit into a McLaren in 1995 and left F1 for good.