Mar 26, 2007

All Hail Hamilton!

One race certainly doesn't make a career, but there's plenty of buzz in Britain about a bloke named Lewis Hamilton. The BBC has gushed that he has marked himself out as a future world champion following his impressive Formula One debut, a view which was seconded by his boss, McLaren's numero uno, Ron Dennis.

Why the high praise?  Well, for one thing, Hamilton is English, and the Brits are dying for a competitive Formula One driver who can carry the Union Jack to victory.  But the kid has talent, too.  He finished third in the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, holding his own in a race-long battle with teammate Fernando Alonso, a battle that Hamilton was politically wise enough to lose.

Then there's the fact that, in addition to being a Brit, Hamilton is of "mixed-race," which has led some to speculate that he could have the same kind of impact on world-class motor racing as Tiger Woods has had on golf. Just what that impact could be is open to question, since Tiger Woods' mastery of the links has not led to an avalanche of black or "mixed race" golfers on the PGA tour, but that's neither here nor there. Dennis doesn't see his driver's race as much of a factor, either.

"To me those issues are of no relevance," Dennis told BBC. "We're in the business of winning races. Where he's come from has relevance in terms of history, but no relevance to the team."

Before we assign Hamilton with Tiger Woods-like dominance, maybe it would be nice if the guy actually won a race or two.  On that score, the positive news is that he is competing for a team -- McLaren-Mercedes - that has a good chance of actually winning races, something that many of the F1 teams don't have. The bad news, however, is that Hamilton is the number two driver on the team in a branch of the sport where team protocol suggests that number two always plays second fiddle to number one, in this case Alonso, the driver McLaren-Mercedes would like to see win the driving championship.

Which is why Dennis was coy when asked about the chance of Hamilton winning an F1 race this year.  The team boss allowed that it was possible, but under his breath he probably wheezed, "not bloody likely." 

"What we must do is take it a race at a time, and in a situation where we provide our drivers with the most competitive car, there's no reason why a race won't fall into his hands," he said. "And if that happens, he won't let the opportunity go by."

Now there's a champion for you!