Why would some people discredit the capability of Hamilton when his statistics say it all?

Question

Compare to any other drivers that come close, such as Alonso, Kimi and Masa, did Hamilton has to prove any further that he has the greater potential to achieve the championship when he scored more podiums and wins?

Why didn't the aforementioned drivers score as much wins or podium with so more than 100 races undertaken so far in comparison?

Why did it take so long for Kimi to achieve his 1st championship in 2007 when Alonson alone got it twice? Is Kimi really that great afterall? Or people is just taking him as another Michael Schumacher?

Answer 1

I'm sitting on the fence, don't worry, got jeans on.

Yes Hamilton is extreemley talanted and the outright quickest British driver since Clark.

But ( and its a biggie) look at the car(s) hes had in F1 and compare them to the F1 also rans Alonso and Raikkonen had to start out with.

Both Alonso and Raikkonen started out in 2001, Alonso in a Minardi.

Alonso did very well to average 17Th out of 22 in a year old version of the slowest car on the grid in 2000! ( Not a typo)

Raikkonen started out in a Sauber ( pre BMW involvement), which was reasonably likley to finish just in the points, if everthing went ok. He averaged 10th in quali, only 2 places behind the more experienced Heidfeld.

For 02 Raikkonen went to McLaren, who were floating around in space without Rons favourite Hakkinen, where Alonso went to be a Renault test driver.

2003 showed to everyone that Alonso and Kimi were talent. Kimi spent a long time leading the championship in a car that was nowhere near the Ferrari and not even as good as the Williams, finishing 2nd in the drivers championship, an agonsingly close 2 pts behind Schumi.

Alonso was in the 4 th fastest car, and scored the new era's Renault their debut win at Hungary, being the youngest race winner.

I feel, the 3 drivers are very equal and Hamilton would perform similry to say Kubica if in a BMW. Hamilton was lucky to join McLaren at a rare moment of being both fast and reliable, something Kimi never enjoyed there.

Answer 2

I agree... People cannot keep keep discrediting the talents of Lewis Hamilton when he has demonstrated that he was immediately on the pace of his double world champion teammate, and the experienced Ferrari duo.

He has had his fair share of mistakes too... but haven't all his peers at the same stage of their careers (except perhaps Alonso.. who won in his first year at Renault... his first year at Minardi wouldn't yield any points for obvious reasons..)... he has shown that he is a special talent, and will get better once he learns more of the subtleties of F1 and refines his driving to its peak....

Answer 3

Hamilton has clearly shown that he's a class driver, but I think there is a touch of the same envy that led many NASCAR fans to hate Jeff Gordon. There may be a feeling that Hamilton had it too easy by going straight into a speedy machine like the McLaren-Mercedes.

Answer 4

look at his car - hamilton jumped into what was arguably the best car on the grid. that's why a lot of people question him.

kimi started off his f1 career in sauber which had no chance of winning and then was in mclaren during ferrari and renault's domination.

and remember that he beat alonso last year, partly because alonso didn't like the fact that hamilton wasn't bending over backwards to accommodate the dual-world champion. also remember that hamilton has been groomed for the past decade or so by ron dennis as the next mclaren protege, so it's no surprise that he received preferential treatment.

Answer 5

Given the machinery at his disposal he could hardly fail.