I wonder does Lewis Hamilton ever get pissed off about all the hype surrounding him. Okay so the guy has raced three races and has won himslef three podium finishes. But how long can this go on for? Noone remains on a successful streak for too long do they? I mean when you look back through the books all the major faces on the F1 scene faded eventually. Schumacher did. Villeneuve did and Hakkinen did.
I'm not saying by any stretch that Hamilton has reached his peak yet or that he is as successful as those drivers but I think there is just a little too much pressure on the young British driver to perform. It's enivitable that some day he will have a failure/crash/qualify poorly. It's not possible for anyone to maintain the abilities that Hamilton has shown in the last three races.
And now the other drivers have copped that he has massive ability on the circuit, they too are raising their game. Take Raikkonen for example. He is one of the most competitive drivers out there and I can't see him allowing Hamilton to streak ahead of him for too long. Raikkonen has the ability to win the championship and to stop Hamilton and is the type of guy that will not hang around when an opportunity arises.
The thing is that all the hype that surrounds Hamilton spurs the other drivers into action. They want to beat him, they want to be better than he is. All this puts even more pressure on the McLaren driver to perform. It's harder for him now which makes the sport all the more entertaining for us to watch. Competition makes a race, even among team mates.
Remember the 2002 Austrian Grand Prix where Rubens Barichello was ordered to allow team mate Michael Schumacher to pass him? There was a huge outburst and team orders were banned from the F1 regulations. We want all the drivers to be competitive regardless of teams. Every man for himself!
Hamilton Hype: http://www.planetf1.com/story/0,18954,3261_2075280,00.html
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