Let's see the real Lewis
Posted by Bill Thomas at 3:10PM on Thursday 24 May, 2007 1 Comment
Am I the only one left feeling just a smidge flat by all the Lewis Hamilton hype? I can't put my finger on exactly why, but it all seems a bit weird, and indeed, strange.
It's probably because I can't detect any shred of real character in the guy in the few TV interviews with him that I've seen. I have no idea what sort of bloke he is, other than 'nice'.
All I do know is that he has a pretty well-spoken and natural dad, so that's a good sign. Hamilton Senior comes across better than his son, in a way, because he hasn't been trained.
In Lewis, we have probably the most polished performer in the history of pre-F1, if that makes sense. Nurtured for years by the super-efficient McLaren media relations machine, our Lewis is incredibly relaxed and professional in front of the cameras.
I saw him in a media scrum when he was doing the F3 Euroseries, and even then he was far slicker and more poised than his rivals, both in front of large numbers of magazine and newspaper press and in front of TV reporters and cameras. I watched him working for about half an hour, asked a couple of questions myself, and didn't really detect much emotion at any stage.
I learned precisely nothing about the bloke, other than the fact that he's impressively well-trained.
We could use some sort of documentary about him, a show that demonstrates his amazing skills and shows him doing something he enjoys, and also gives a proper insight into him as a real human being. We don't need him to lapse into the idiocy of the playboy lifestyle that Jenson Button fell into earlier in his career.
Neither do we need over-exposure, something Jenson fell foul of. We need him to be gracious in defeat (something that Button is completely incapable of), complimentary about his rivals (again, Button is incapable of this) and never overly-egotistical or self-centred (Button borders on this... a lot).
Other than that, I'm not sure what the solution is. McLaren are protecting him from Martin Brundle on the grid, a policy which needs to stop. They're giving ITV a bit of time with him, but it doesn't seem too well thought out.
Maybe this is a message for McLaren's media relations people - let's see the real Lewis. I'm sure he's a great guy, but until there's a way of getting to him, none of us will ever find out.
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There was a flash of emotion after yesterday's test when he said it was the first time he'd driven an F1 car round Monaco and "...it was awesome".
That's an emotional comment to start with, surely. Though it probably doesn't teach us anything new - that he likes driving fast cars then.