Lots of hype about Hamilton from day one. After generally matching the performance level of Alonso in his first year, many labelled him the next Schumacher among other things because apparently no ordinary driver can be consistently fast as Fernando Alonso. Many also claiming it just proved Alonso was overrated from the beginning by being matched by \"rookie\" and neither are anything special. Now one year on, Hamilton is still looking pretty good despite a rough year, or maybe its just the car and Heikki is being held back?

So has anyone reached a conclusion on Hamilton yet and what is it? Is he a great in the making or just an overrated driver beng flattered by Mclaren and team preference?

he's damn good, even great driver, but I'm not sure about "future Great" NMT.

Another Hamilton Thread??

Clear indication that he's the next Schumacher.In more ways than one.

Not sure yet.

I think Alonso is probably a bit over-rated. He had a lot of luck winning both his championships - if it hadn't been for reliablity issues, Kimi would have won the one, Schumacher the other. So we probably shouldn't read too much into Hamilton matching Alonso. Alonso is undoubtedly very good, but no Senna.

Hamilton is also undoubtedly very good, but labelling him "one of the greats" is obviously too early. We'll have to wait and see. It would also be interesting to see how he fares in a car that isn't as good as the McLaren. Would he be able to extract the sort of performance that Senna did from the 1993 McLaren, or Schumacher from the 1996 Ferrari?

I think Hamilton, Alonso and Kimi (and many other drivers in the grid) are markedly under rated by a significant amount of people on this BB.

I don't really know what a future great is but i think Lewis will be mixing it up for wins for several years to come.

I'm definitely not a Hamilton fan. Somehow I don't really like the guy, (completely biased, unfunded opinion, but then I didn't like schumi much either ) but he's undoubtedly very, very fast. Whether you like him or not, you can't deny his on-track speed and race craft. He's shown that he can go very fast and made some really spectacular overtakes. He just needs to mature as a person. He's got a good 15 years left in F1 and i think he'll definitely win more than 1 WDC.

For now I'm rooting for Kimi and Massa (not because of Ferrari, I just like them) and Kubica as a good 3rd.

Pretty much my feelings too (except for the schumi bit ). Last year I was skeptical, this year, sadly, there is no defensible argument that he is anything but an outstanding talent.

He's a douche make no mistake. But a supremely talented one.

Same..Helmet on, big fan. Helmet off, can't stand him.

I'm impressed. But then I was impressed in 07 too.

Otherwise known as the Mansell effect.

It always amuses me that more often than not these threads started by hopeful bashers go against them

At this time, 60%+ on the 'future great' vote.

I really like Hammy, his total lack of fear about anything, his openness and confidence. Bashing Norbert in the belly, remember that? . I know he mixes up what he wants to say a bit with what he's been told to say, but that doesn't bother me, he still comes across as the person he is, which is basically a good-natured person but ultra-competitive and ambitious.

I don't subscribe to the 'choked' bollox about last year either, I think anyone who's clinging to the hope he'll end this year with a mistake or two is in for a disappointment.

And he likes the attention, being a star, which is so good for us.

On track his car control, overtaking, defence, lack of mistakes, he is the complete competitor, and totally watchable. And since he started in F1, he's scored more points than anyone else. A future great, definitely.

Convinced that he is very very good, sure. That he's great - maybe. Great on the track, can't stand him with his helmet off though. And I'd like to see how he would cope with an ill-handling car, or a one that breaks down all the time.

In other words, a fairly typical race driver. So full of confidence he could probably drive on water etc etc. A reality that far too many posters just don't get.

Well, he does seem to like it as long as the press writes nice things about him. The opposite way though..

seeing him in GP2 i was convinced that after some 30-40 years there will be "Hamilton era" right after "Schumacher era" in history books. that he could not beat Alonso clear and easy in the same car made me doubt a little.

on the other hand - i was almost as sure to have recognized a future great about Tom Pryce...

This is not a very good poll. It is too subjective. Ether Lewis is Great or he is overrated. A "None of the above" option would have enabled a more accurate poll to be taken.

I think that Lewis has a great future in F1, but I am not prepared to put a vote against 'great' because I do not think that he is. He may be at some point in the future, time will tell. I hate the hype that Lewis attracts. My assessment of Lewis and where he is at the moment is: A good driver with a long future in F1.

I did not like the way he came over in the media but after Silverstone this year I respected him a lot more. He was the only driver that took a walk around the Circuit on the Thursday to give Marshals autographs. Unfortuantly I was oppossite the Pit Garage so missed it.

I think driving wise he is going to be one of the greats but he does need some media savyness training.

Exactly. We need to wait and see how he develops. Which is why polls like this are not particularly enlightening.

There is no doubt about his speed and race craft. He is still a bit of a hot-head, and looses his cool too easily. The red mist gives him his speed, but it is also his weakness! But that he can learn to control that and become the finished article, and when he does we could be in for some very boring seasons. And some very annoying press conferences as he tells us how great he is. More annoyingly, he'll be right.

It amuses me that more often then not someone can look at a fair poll and opening post, mislead themselves into thinking it is some kind of bashing and end up being the cause of any real bashing in a thread.


"Good driver, in a great team-overrated."
He is a good driver
He is in a great team
A lot of people overrate him when he still has a lot to prove

No need for the "need more time" option because the one I chose covers it already.

nothing especial, just an average driver with the loving support of his boss, if he was a great driver, considering all the advantage he had last year, would have killed alonso and would have won the championship easily...when he first year in the midfield comes up all my words will get confirmed

It's impossible to say until he's 5/6 years into his career. Many of us were convinced Kimi and Alonso would be the next Schumacher only a while ago. It's the post-Schumacher syndrome, people are looking for a replacement, they want to believe there's a F1 "great" on the current grid.

I think there's a lot of truth in this. It's just a pity that the bashers can't shut up for a minute and allow a sensible discussion. Again.

master yoda, is that you?!

my brother indeed

To add to the above:

Hamilton is very good, but then he should be. He has been nurtured as an elite athlete, in the same way as David Beckham and others have. That is relatively new to motorsports, but not others, especially Olympic sports. Take it into account.

There is a strange tendency to believe that in any year a successful driver is an all-time great. That isn't so, that driver is simply the most successful that year, not necessarily the best. The nature of motorsport, in that it is a symbiosis between driver and vehicle, means that pure driver talent is not always enough, and a very good car can flatter a merely good driver.

There is an odd phenomenon in which some people are drawn to be fans of a particular driver in a very intense and rather disturbing way. This began some years ago - you may remember that the letters page of Autosport used to feature letters in which people over-praised certain drivers, often based on extraneous factors, such as Johnny Herbert being good looking. This is now reaching the stage where it is almost like stalking, and completely blinkers the individual so that their posts are divorced from any form of reality or evidence.

The present class are not, at the moment, up there with the real greats. How often do we hear that Schumacher could do better? It may well be true. Hamilton is young, Alonso flawed, Raikkonen seems to have lost his mojo, Jenson is a technical driver but not a real racer - all of these accusations have some truth.

So why don't some of us mature up a bit, and look at things as they really are. This is a fascinating season (and I really don't care who wins either championship - please remember that there are two) because so many factors are conspiring against domination by any one team or driver. Enjoy it for what it is.

You give the impression that you have read the first two lines but not the third one, "Not sure yet-need more time"

FWIW, I remember a similar debate about Mr Schumacher - loads of hype after his first F1 race about a future star - in the course of time, fully justifed of course. I think Lewis Hamilton as all the attributes required to be a great but he requires more time to actually prove it.

The reason why some people dont like hamilton is becuase people seem to want to thrust greatness on him when he hasnt achieved greatness yet. The guy wins a race and people are comparing him favorably to Senna, God, Schumi e.t.c. I am a kimi fan but i dont have anything againstHamilton. He is really fast and has shown that by consistently beatng his team mate this year. But please, let him win a WDC before you start calling him great. When that day comes, ill emigrate to the moon to get away from all the media hype.

Future great? Are you serious? He's a current great. And I've been convinced about Hamilton since that Gp2 race at Silverstone in 2006. That double pass was the stuff of genius.

He is current great and future legend.

Turkey 2008 - Remind me of MS Hungary 1998.
Silverstone 2008 - Remind me Senna 1993 / MS Barcelona 1996
Hockhenheim 2008 - Remind me Senna and MS ruthlessness on the track.

These options are quite odd.
He's a very very good driver, in a great team.
Overrated? By who? Every driver is overrated by some people and underrated by others.

LH The Racer - Pole Position.
LH The Person - Midfield.

I think he is a very talented driver no doubt.
But he is still making silly mistakes when things arn't going his way. Or he is still over driving the car to keep up when he's not in a position to win.
His driving abilities are there, no question.
The mental aspect, the key part that seperates the good from the truely great, is still not there. Will it ever be? maybe in time, with experience and maturity. But right now every time I see him in interviews and just infront of the camera, he reminds me of a kid who's still excited by it all. Which is fine, but not the mind and attitude of a champion.
Hungary is a good example, he was having to drive absolutly flat out just to keep close to the ferrari of Massa which by all accounts wasn't exactly driving flat out. This in turn meant Lewis was damaging his tyres flat spotting them and that lead in part to the eventual puncture. I cant help but think, that if it were Kimi, Michael or Fernando, they would have realised that they were going to struggle to beat the guy, and that championship points would have been far more important. So settled for the 2nd place, which in turn would have lead to a win with Massa failure.
We've seen it several times and I have not yet seen that change. When it does, he'll be a champion without question.

I've been convinced about him since the GP2 Turkey race. And he's only got better since then.

The fact that Lewis slipped into a great car with a very supportive team around him sure didn't hurt. Timing is everything in F1(bad pun I know) and Hamilton has done well for himself. Now he just has to deliver.

What really amazed me this year is the fact that McLaren can keep their development pace up, even without an experienced driver as a lead/backup (like Alonso last year). To me that shows that either Hamilton or Kovalainen can provide good feedback to the engineers... A trait that is common to all greats.

He is exceptional talent, but I can't stand him.



PS. I hope Kubica will kick his ass driving for Ferrari sometime in the future

2 seasons in f1.

Perhaps the problem is he hasn't started off in a midfield team or something. With Mclaren, he had been competing for wins and titles from the start, it's always difficult measuring that.

He hasn't been in a slump yet for a whole season.

Still though definately one of the best drivers, and immediately on the pace coming into f1, but 2 seasons, and the 2nd season isn't finished yet, the question is I'm I convinced about what? Is Hamiltion a very good driver? Yes he is
Is he immediately a future great or something? Time will tell, titles don't mean as much as the quality of the drives, and Hamilton prefers to win in strong style, this bolds well, his rain driving is what reminds me of some Senna/Schumi spirit, but he's not like them, but I know he looks up to them, it's in his quotes, he's trying to learn from both of them, but so far, I haven't seen that amazing Schumacher cornering technique, it seems more on par with Senna, very precise driver, excellent racer, but Schumacher's amazing natural speed in inlaps and ability to explore time, haven't seen that in Hamilton. Hamilton uses alot of the road and works on precision in detail to get his speed, alot of concentrating going on, he hasn't really had much head to head battles to outflank opponants at pitstops, this will change over time and a better opinon will be gaged later.

For the stage he is at now, very impressive, will he stall, or continue to do better things, time will tell.

No I will never be convinced because I hate him, forever! I am a die-hard Alonso fan arrggghh!!!

He didn't 'slip in' by accident though. Ron didn't exactly get into F1 yesterday, he knows what great drivers look like, and McLaren has never been a team to take rookies. The reason Ron likes him, the reason he got noticed in the first place, and the reason Ron broke his own rule and put him in the car as a rookie, is because he's exceptional.

And "now he has to deliver"?? He had the most successful rookie year ever, would have won the wdc in his rookie year if the car and team hadn't gone wrong in the last race, and has outscored all the other top-rated experienced F1 drivers since he started.

Yes the hype is annoying. But there is a reality there behind it.

I will make my judgement when I see him performing at least one season in not the best car on the grid. So far he didn't have the occasion. His potential as a driver is great but I can see one or two other young drivers who could win the same amount or even more races but haven't got the car.

And never forget his amazing F3 euroseries year, and his amazing GP2 year. I dont think he got any favors there. He proved what he can do with championship material.

Losing the WDC last year by one point was unfortunate, and yes this year he should be able to get it (luck plays a big part too in these achievements).

Future great. Has shown the habit to make some big mistakes, but when he's on fire he has amazing speed - and the mistakes are what you'd expect from someone at this level of experience. Maybe he has peaked early, but most drivers don't. Most likely he'll become even stronger in the future.

As amazing as he has seemed, he does have some flaws. Besides the mistakes, last year he had occasional weekends where he couldn't match Alonso's pace, and this year he's not being fully convincing in qualifying against Kovalainen. But then again there has never been a perfect driver throughout history, and certainly not after only 1,5 seasons in F1.

I never said he slipped in by accident. He deserved it and, you're right, Ron took a chance on a rookie and he showed everyone, including Fernando, that he was more than capable. As for the success part, his rookie year, however amazing, is a distant memory. Lewis, regardless of his age, really is in his 'sweet spot' at the moment and he should relish it. He's an exceptional talent sitting in a fantastic car with an entire team focused on him(remind you of anyone?). It doesn't get any better than that and, yes, IMO, he has to take the title, or 'deliver' or whatever you want to call it because you only have so many chances for success in F1. All the greats had great cars and made the most of it. LH must do the same.

Some people are really funny. I swear to God I almost pee in my pants!

A rookie comes into the sport and beats (controversy aside) the 2-time WDC and paisan over here we shouldn't read too much into it.

I think Hamilton will win various WDCs. As to how many it's still something of an unknown. But he is amazingly fast and consistent, so the future is his, because he does not depend on that which does not come naturally.

Voted the middle option. What he does on track and what is written about him, is there is big gap. But his Hockenheim drive was worthy of much praise (the first real one worthy of the praise he gets), so if he can keep doing these type of performances it will force everyone to take notice and acknowledge him as a great.

And Silverstone? I mean the guy was in a completly different league! And i'm far from a fan!

Option №3.

Fantastic racing talent apart from miserable likes of Massa and underperfoming sleepy Kimi.

But it is too early to be convinced.

Currently he is on track with JV achievements. And still the title has yet to be won.

We will see how he cope with more difficult times which are totally unfamiliar for him in his career so far but those tougher times will imminently come.

Funny thing is I voted A...