1433 replies to this topic

[lattitude]

I think the press and ex drivers have sung too highly for Hamilton, well, when you have Ferrari and McLaren wayyyyy ahead of the rest, it is very easy to be impressed to see a Rookie in 3rd Place or qualifying 4th,... but any competent F1 driver should be able to do that given the car advantage. Today Hamilton did not show anything special.

Well,...of course he has good potential, but it is too early to praise him like he is the next Big Thing.

Remember how Damon Hill and David Coulthard performed as a rookie in an all dominant Williams team back in the 90s,....they are also challenging closely for wins and racking up podiums like nobody's business.

[JSF]

no

[carbonfibre]

Omg he has 1 bad quali and suddenly he becomes overrated and nothing special.

Just give these rookies some time. The same thing happened with Nico last year, he is doing a great job this year.

[lattitude]

Originally posted by carbonfibre
Omg he has 1 bad quali and suddenly he becomes overrated and nothing special.

Just give these rookies some time. The same thing happened with Nico last year, he is doing a great job this year.

I don't mean to say that he is bad today, or in Melbourne, but when you look at the advantage that Ferrari and McLaren have over the field, its just not hard to score a 3rd place or a 4th place.

[clampett]

Kovalainen was overrated after one bad race in Melbourne (which was actually the car's true level).

Hamilton is overrated now after one OK qualifying.

Oh my oh my.

[inaki]

The guy is good.

But he is overrated in the true meaning of the word.

British press is as chauvinist as any other one in the world and has become crazy about him.

[PassWind]

Oh I beg to differ, this kid has exceeded my expectations already and I would say a lot of people would of the same opinion, he is so close to Alonso's speed now in his 2nd GP its only going to get better when he matures into a F1 race seat proper, and in his case I think sooner than later.

To be this close to a guy really starting to peak is pretty incredible. Doesn't take anything away from Alonso BTW there will always be someone better around the corner, sometime, somewhere.

[Ural]

No! Lewis is very, very good!

[Cenotaph]

Hamilton is young and he has a lot to learn, but i think he has got the talent to be WDC. Now if he is going to be the next big thing i dunno. After all, alonso is still a very young driver, so if hamilton wants to be a winner he needs to improve, no doubt about it.

[VresiBerba]

Originally posted by lattitude
I don't mean to say that he is bad today, or in Melbourne, but when you look at the advantage that Ferrari and McLaren have over the field, its just not hard to score a 3rd place or a 4th place.

But... he DID qualify fourth today, and in Melbourne too actually. Where do you want hem to qualify for him do do well?

[Lifew12]

Under rated. The guy is very, very good and anyone who can't see that is either guilty of wishful thinking or plain daft.

[Fatgadget]

One only has to look at the caliber of the guys in front of him to appreciate how good as a rookie Lewis is. He only has 1 GP under his belt..nuff said.

[512 TR]

Hamilton is not overrated! He's a great prospect. Maybe not as talented as Robert Kubica. On the other hand who is? But he's really, really good!

[Will]

Bit bizarre saying 'Is he overrated?' after one qualifying session where he qualified on the second row. Besides anybody who has been watching his career over a period of time can see that his is main strength is in the race particularly with wheel to wheel racing and overtaking.

[schufan]

I dont think so,He has been able to drive very well above expectation of lot of people from the first race itself,sure his car is good which is allowing him to show his pace.but that isnt everything.Besides he is handling it quite well driving besides a world champion.Its early days but still he has been impressive so far.

[tidytracks]

Originally posted by Will
Bit bizarre saying 'Is he overrated?' after one qualifying session where he qualified on the second row. Besides anybody who has been watching his career over a period of time can see that his is main strength is in the race particularly with wheel to wheel racing and overtaking.

Give the kid a break.

This is his second grand prix. He qualified fourth. We've had one race in which to see him in an F1 car, and people ask if he is over-rated?

Anyone who has watched his career grow will be aware of just what a special talent lewis is.

Over-rated? I think not.

Over-hyped to the point that qualifying on the second row (fourth both times) for his first two grand prixs is in some way seen as a dissapointment? Absolutely.

We haven't seen a 1000th of what Lewis is capable of in a race car. But the media isnt helping the situation by proclaiming him as the new messiah.

This thread is premature and preposterous.

[Feeder]

It's quite funny to see many people talking about Hamilton because they change their speech depending on the situation. Three weeks ago everyone was praising the brit because he was 3rd in a race where he had no opposition. The only cars that could be a problem for his McLaren were the Ferraris, Kimi won and Massa started at the back of the grid so the only one he had left to beat was his teammate that didn't even try to pass him (and he finished 12 seconds behind Alonso). So he had a very comfortable race and after it all the press was talking about "the new Ayrton Senna", "the next Big Thing", "Surely a WDC" etc In those days very few people said "Wait a moment please, it's only one race" but now, after a qualifying where he has been 0,7 seconds slower than Alonso everyone is saying "It's only his second race, leave him". So, what is all this about? If he does "well" he is great but if he fails "Please don't bash him, he is a rookie!".

I wonder what Kovalainen (alias "rubbish race") thinks about this...













Sorry for my english

[Fatgadget]

One doesn't get a plum Mclaren drive without being exceptional.

[Dudley]

Originally posted by clampett
Kovalainen was overrated after one bad race in Melbourne (which was actually the car's true level).

Yes the Renault car magically spins 4 times and only the genius of Fisichella (recently returned from a 2 year holiday in the Orient) can stop it.

[Dalton007]

The kid's a genius But, he's in a top car, I want to see him in a Honda ;)

[PassWind]

Originally posted by Feeder
It's quite funny to see many people talking about Hamilton because they change their speech depending on the situation. Three weeks ago everyone was praising the brit because he was 3rd in a race where he had no opposition. The only cars that could be a problem for his McLaren were the Ferraris, Kimi won and Massa started at the back of the grid so the only one he had left to beat was his teammate that didn't even try to pass him (and he finished 12 seconds behind Alonso). So he had a very comfortable race and after it all the press was talking about "the new Ayrton Senna", "the next Big Thing", "Surely a WDC" etc In those days very few people said "Wait a moment please, it's only one race" but now, after a qualifying where he has been 0,7 seconds slower than Alonso everyone is saying "It's only his second race, leave him". So, what is all this about? If he does "well" he is great but if he fails "Please don't bash him, he is a rookie!".

I wonder what Kovalainen (alias "rubbish race") thinks about this...


Sorry for my english

Well Webbers overall avg quali gap over his team mates is somewhat over that and no one GAF. Its one qualification session. For a second race rookie, I am sure you can dig up a race or two where Fisi is .7 behind on the grid. It really doesn't mean anything the gap, fact is Hamilton had been faster than that much faster and very close to Alonso's ultimate pace. So its there and if he jumps him again then we might see another chance of beating him as thats Lewis's intent as it should be.

[Fortymark]

2:nd race of his F1 carreer and he puts the McLaren 4:th on the grid, that
is being overrated?

He has been on the pace so far in almost every session, as worst 4:th
if you exclude Malaysia FP2 (where he was quicker than Alonso).
7 sessions out of 8, top 4


Give him at least 2 years from now if you want to compair him with other
experienced drivers.

[Ross Stonefeld]

Originally posted by Fatgadget
One doesn't get a plum Mclaren drive without being exceptional.

True, but does one become that exceptional as a rookie without being first groomed by McLaren?

[Mauseri]

Certainly overrated at the moment. He doesnt have what it takes to drive in league of his teammate or a couple other F1 drivers. His driving is plain average this season. But quite good and solid for a rookie.

People said it will be bad for him to be Alonso's teammate... I think it's good for him to be in top team. Even losing to Alonso he will always look better in brit press than say, Rosberg.

[Sakae]

Not taking anything from him, but considering that this is his only second race, certainly he is rated rather in excess. If he however drives consistently whole season at the top, than we can talk again.

There is something Anglo-American in designating the "stardom" before you play; where I came from one must first play, and then you become a star.

[FredF1]

Originally posted by MiPe
Not taking anything from him, but considering that this is his only second race, certainly he is rated rather in excess. If he however drives consistently whole season at the top, than we can talk again.

There is something Anglo-American in designating the "stardom" before you play; where I came from one must first play, and then you become a star.

Just watching qualifying on Setanta where they said that Hamilton was talking about finding all the hype about him as rather bemusing. Sounds to me like he's got his head screwed on right. As a contrast - we're still waiting for 'Button Spice' to live up to the similar hype that he got back in 2000.

[Henrik B]

Couldn't we merge this with "Kimi Raikkonen - Finally Exposed" and bury it someplace deep along with the "Nico Rosberg - I have seen the furure" from last year? I think it is somewhere around some Kubica ones...

Better, lock the entire forum until atleast six races have been run.

[coyoteBR]

"Bad qualy"? The guy is 4th on grid. And, unless you know for sure McLaren has exactly the same fuel on both cars, both drivers got exactly the same trafic, track temperature, et. all, I can't see how you can say it's a "bad qualy".

If he happens to be 8th or 9th at Monaco GP grid, without interference... in that case, I would say it would be a bad qualy, and the guy is overrated in certain conditions.

For Instance, Prost was one of the most complete drivers ever in F1. A genius. Still, didn't performed that well under rain.

Does that mean Alain is overrated?

[Kenaltgr]

Originally posted by carbonfibre
Omg he has 1 bad quali and suddenly he becomes overrated and nothing special.

Just give these rookies some time. The same thing happened with Nico last year, he is doing a great job this year.

OMG 1 good race in Australia (still finished behind Alonso) and suddenly everyone think's he's a superstar, like Rosberg in Bahrain last year. It works both ways.
Today he was well beaten, over 7 tenths, and clearly was not happy about it. Alonso would have probably been on pole looking at the sector times on F1, if he didn't go heavy.

[gerry nassar]

C'mon guys - since when do we judge how well a driver did in quali before we even see how much fuel they had on board and how they fair in the race.

[davesideways]

What a pointless thread, why waste the energy replying?

[SphereTL1000S]

I think he would qualy closer to Alonso, he said he lift a little after seeing some rain drops on his visor. And Alonso is now currently the best of the current crop. That says A LOT. He can be beaten by Alonso all year, still he will look better in the end than Fisi ever did. Which says a lot for a rookie.

If we compare him to Kovalainen, which may be talented, but not so cool, you will see how good he did at Aus. And I expect him to be really close to the three in front of him, and easily hold of Heidfeld. If he has a good start, he may held Kimi too, I bet. His race pace is good, and if the car really improved, he has a chance. Wait and see.

[former champ]

Hamilton is a future World Champion. He's got that potential no doubt. Key is, I think he's with the right team as McLaren will only get better and more consistent.

He's not overrated by any stretch. Alonso will beat him this year but, so what?

[Tuxy]

I'de like to throw my hat into the ring and say no. No matter if he's in one of the top ride...if your teamamtes is the current world champion and their neck and neck thus far, I'd say he's impressed everyone and rightfuly so.

[Peri_Piket]

Lewis is rated as a promise of a future WDC given his outstanding racing CV.
Just like Magnussen after winning F3 breaking Senna's BF3 record.
Just like Zonta that won every accessing formulas.
Just Like Montoya...

Overrated is when the guy never won a title and is hyped as a future WDC.

[Rexx Havoc]

did anybody see the lap he put together in practice yesterday?

[HP]

Overrated? No.
Overhyped? Yes.

[Group B]

Quite; the British media being inane and over the top as usual. LH is clearly very good and highly promising, but most drivers on the grid could put that McLaren fourth and I hardly think Fred is ******* the bed with fear.

[clampett]

Originally posted by SphereTL1000S
I think he would qualy closer to Alonso, he said he lift a little after seeing some rain drops on his visor. And Alonso is now currently the best of the current crop. That says A LOT. He can be beaten by Alonso all year, still he will look better in the end than Fisi ever did. Which says a lot for a rookie.

As much as I like Hamilton, he was beaten with 0.7 secs today. Just watch out when Fisi was 0.3-0.5 secs behind Alonso in quals from the last two years, he was crucified by the bashers. Even some bashed him when he was 0.1 sec behind Alonso.

[abc]

Its simple - its too EARLY to answer this.
BTW Kovalainen won todays battle of rookies: being 1 tenth up against teammate rather than 7 tenths down (no way that FA is 8 tenths faster than Fisi in his 3rd year in Renault).

[armonico]

Originally posted by gerry nassar
C'mon guys - since when do we judge how well a driver did in quali before we even see how much fuel they had on board and how they fair in the race.

hmm...memory is short, gerry, very short indeed.

[LB]

Is Hamilton overrated?

Depends how much you rate him I suppose...

Is he overhyped? yep but so are a lot of people.

Is he the best prospect for GB in F1 since, umm, probably Jackie Stewart. yep.. (remember Hunt, Mansell and Hill weren't rated at all for a fair old time)

[Dudley]

Originally posted by clampett


As much as I like Hamilton, he was beaten with 0.7 secs today. Just watch out when Fisi was 0.3-0.5 secs behind Alonso in quals from the last two years, he was crucified by the bashers. Even some bashed him when he was 0.1 sec behind Alonso.

Finishing 5th for the year in the champion car with 10 YEARS experience didn't have anything to do with it.

He's in race 2, not race 162 like Fisi was and I suspect he'll also be closer than 4 places behind Alonso in the championship too.

Australia: Kubica DNF, NH 4

You are of course kidding. He was ahead of NH when he retired through no fault of his own.

If you're going to bash use Hungary last year when his disqualification was at least his fault.

[Tuxy]

Originally posted by HP
Overrated? No.
Overhyped? Yes.

[magicalonso]

I don't think he is overrated, except by the British press perhaps, but today's qualifying performance must have been unacceptable by his own standards. He has emphasized numerous times now that he is very close to Alonso so he can't be satisfied by this result.

[F1 Tor.]

I just picked a huge flower with lots of petals. I started with "he's awesome", followed by "he's overrated" and according to this flower, Lewis is very good and not overrated at all.;)

[polaris]

I think the press has alot to do with the hype. I think he looks very very good even if he has had the absolute dream path to get where he is. how many have had that chance for whatever reason? I think he is more than paying back the faith placed in him. its early days yet so lets give him some time and the spectators should take some time

[Alfisti]

For sure he is. The kid is obviously massively talented and has great promise for th efuture but he's not out Q'd or out raced any of the cars he should not be ahead of.

In time we will see but for now, yes, people seem to forget he car the rookies are driving.

[Cojayar]

Originally posted by Fatgadget
One only has to look at the caliber of the guys in front of him to appreciate how good as a rookie Lewis is. He only has 1 GP under his belt..nuff said.

He was the worst of the 4 best cars. All other cars behind him are worse than his. I don't say he did good or bad. But he did what many other drivers would have done.

From facts he is overrated. From potential, I dunno. Everybody has an opinion and all are equal good until the opposite is demonstrated.

[Group B]

Originally posted by Cojayar

He was the worst of the 4 best cars. All other cars behind him are worse than his. I don't say he did good or bad. But he did what many other drivers would have done.

It staggers me that some people are having sooo much trouble grasping this simple fact

Of course he's good, but where exactly on the grid would anyone expect to find the second Mac given the current pecking order of packages?