He spoke again, make of it what you will. https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2...address-over-human-rights-says-lewis-hamilton
Arise Lord Hamilton? Following reports that he is to receive a knighthood in the New Year's Honours list, Hamilton said that if the reports were true "it would be an incredible honour - there is no greater honour than your country recognising you with such an award".
I agree with a lot of what you say but please tell me who you think beat Lewis regularly? I must declare an interest as my son is the same age as Lewis and we used to race at the same tracks. My delivery business was in Stevenage where Lewis is from and I used to send their engines off to his engine tuner as my small amount of sponsorship. We were quite friendly for a few years, Lewis used to come to our house and we used to go to theirs. I had my Son's Scalectric set up in my loft and they used to spend hours up there. The kids used to meet up at the various tracks around the country and generally have a good time as kids do. Tony, Lewis's Dad, used to turn up at the track with a box trailer pulled by an old red Cavalier and he used to do all the mechanicing himself. That was from when Lewis and my son were 10 and that was the norm for a few years. It is true that Tony took on more jobs so he could initially fund Lewis's racing but eventually he started a contracting business which helped with the funding. My Daughter worked for him for a while. She was also Editor of Karting Magazine for a while. There were a group of boys in the Cadet class who were very good and most were very well funded but my recollection from being there is that Lewis was nearly always the one in front in the end. Nobody "regularly beat Lewis" and that is what Ron Dennis saw too. He was right. Ron also picked another young karter at the same time and they both had the same deal, same sprinter van, everything. He didn't last long for some reason. We raced all over the country in National Championships for about 9 years then had a dabble in single seaters (Formula BMW) but that was the last straw financially. For those that say he only wins because he has the best car, well maybe he has but you can say that about any winner. The fact is he nearly always beats his team mates. I know that Nico won in the same car but Lewis and Nico go back a long way as team mates and Nico never beat Lewis when they were in the same team in European karting. I'm glad Nico won the title but he probably realised that he would never win another one. You are right, it cost us a fortune to compete but our budget was miniscule compared to some. If you go to PFI now the paddock is full of "teams" and massive motorhomes. Rich parents who think they can buy their kids into F1. Well that money will only take them so far, their degree of talent will find them out in the end. I have read every post in this thread and have refrained from commenting until your highlighted comment. I've probably gone on for too long but take it for what it is, my experience from being there. I don't agree with his political statements but he is entitled to say what he likes, that doesn't make him a twat. He is just a supremely talented racer.
Hey, thanks for the reply. I will respond ‘properly’ when I’ve got 5 to remember that he is 5 years older than me. Whilst I recall some cadet stuff, at the age of 10 I was 5. I was speaking largely of later down the line. I did state (I think) somewhere in here that it was not always rainbows and daisy fields. From my recollection there was around a year or two which was a bit touch and go. Isn’t that the case for most though? I remember speaking to Martin (rip) back in the day about it and he had a lot to say on the matter. and also my point was more that he was beaten. Some seem to believe he was this Jedi like force that won every championship he entered (he didn’t) not even in cars. Our paths have possibly crossed due to the formula bmw thing as well
No, he was just a normal fun loving kid. He used to get up to all sorts of mischief as they do. I haven't spoken to him for many years as he's on a different planet now. Of course, people change but I don't think you would be calling him a twat if you knew him as I did.
Fair enough. I can only place him on the twatometer based on the way I’ve seen him behave and from what friends have told me after having interaction with him.
Years back when Nic (who’s spot on was with tcr) Two mates of mine were team mates with him. It was the first time I’ve been in the same radius to Lewis in a very very long time. I have to say he’s changed incomprehensibly. As you say, as a kid he was a nice enough lad. Sweet almost I definitely agree with that. people do change though as you say. I did respect him at the time as a racer. He always went for the gap. And spent a lot of time shunting from memory (finding the edge).
Of course he got beaten, as does every racer but my point was that no one person beat him regularly. We had some fantastic years in Karting, some disappointments too and I could have bought a nice big house for what it cost us but I wouldn't change a thing. Both my children learnt a lot about life from it. I meant to say in my post that Martin Hines was also a great help to them in their early years.
