Lewis Hamilton will be on the panel at the next FOTA Fans Forum on June 30th.
It will be held at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking. The Forum will be split into three sections.
Part one, “The big picture”, will cover the racing, rules, calendar and television coverage. Martin Whitmarsh (McLaren), Ross Brawn (Mercedes), Graeme Lowdon (Virgin) and Robert Fernley (Force India) will answer questions.
The second part will look at the technical changes made in 2011, and will include Paddy Lowe (McLaren), James Allison (Renault) and Paul Monaghan (Red Bull).
The final part will involved two drivers, Hamilton and Kamui Kobayashi. Fans will be able to put questions to them. FOTA also said they “will take the opportunity to highlight the initiatives to support Japan”.
If you wish to attend the event, send a question to FOTA via info@teamsassociation.org along with your contact details including, if applicable, your Twitter account. Tickets are first come, first served.
I’ll also be at the event and I look forward to meeting some of you there again.
Image © McLaren
polishboy808
16th June 2011, 14:39
Was there a headline saying “Kobayashi to participate in next FOTA Fans Forum? I don’t seem to remember one….
njw
16th June 2011, 14:46
…better include Whitmarsh, Brawn, Lowdon, Fernley, Lowe, Allison and Monaghan in the headline to, Keith ;)
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
16th June 2011, 14:51
Exactly.
polishboy808
16th June 2011, 15:03
And why not say, “FOTA Fans Forum to include ….” Not just Hamilton. As much as I love Hamilton, its been getting annoying seeing him everywhere on every site, and its actually disappointing to see how much people love him and how quick they are to publicize him on every little thing. “Hamilton Eats donut on a rainy day”. I don’t care, and to be honest, Im much more interested in what Lowe, Alison and Monaghan Have to say. Or Kobayashi, since he’s a brilliant driver and doesn’t cause controversy with everything he does. All Im saying is its annoying seeing him everywhere.
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
16th June 2011, 15:10
Of course I’m not going to list every single person there because then the headline would be ridiculously long.
If I’d written an entire article on the fact that Hamilton was going there, and not mentioned any of the others who were attending, I would see your point. But it’s only a headline.
I appreciate at the moment there have been a couple of Hamilton-related articles in succession, but that’s just the way it is. He’s in the news a lot at the moment.
BasCB (@bascb)
16th June 2011, 16:07
I saw your tweets about the Fan Forum Keith, and I bet that if it had not had Hamilton in (One of the biggest names in F1 and crowd attraction at the event), it might have been someting linke “next FOTA fan forum will be at the McLaren Tech center” as that would have been the most remarkable thing about it.
Polishboy, I think you noticed a lot of the recent Hamilton articles have been far from positively towards his actions, so no need to complain about fanboyism. Just he did and said some noticable things lately.
JCost (@jcost)
20th June 2011, 15:57
C’mon. You’re being a hater now. You and me know why it’s Hamilton making the headline and why his crashes get more coverage than Di Resta’s!
Lowe is very important but nobody is here because of him, no one turns a tv on to see how interesting Bob Smedley is or how cool Ross Brawn would look on a rainy afternoon in São Paulo!
Lewis Hamilton is the boy who sells. Kamui is on his way to make history too, I’d love to see him in Red Bull the day they give up they #2 driver policy just to protect Seb Vettel.
BasCB (@bascb)
16th June 2011, 15:29
Good thing you read on then Polishboy ;-)
snowman
16th June 2011, 16:04
Polishboy, were probably all tired of hearing about Hamilton but he is by far the most famous person attending that event on the list so naturally Keith will put him in the title rather than anyone else.
What about next time title “Keith Collantine to attend Fota Fans forum” then we can read on and see at the bottum of the article Lewis Hamilton will be their also:)
Polishboy808
16th June 2011, 16:52
I like that idea Snowman ;) I don’t mean just good things BasCB, I mean Im tired of seeing him for anything hes done, good or bad. It’s not even fanboyism Im complaining about, or bias, its just the fact that Im annoyed of it! Sorry bout that.
BasCB (@bascb)
17th June 2011, 15:15
No worries there Polishboy!
infy (@infy)
16th June 2011, 17:05
A more attractive headline would have been “drivers to attend fan forum”. Then people would open it up to see which drivers (in the hopes that it was their favourite), while at the same time being neutral and fair in the way it gives equal exposure to even the up and coming drivers, and not just the one who has already made it.
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
16th June 2011, 17:21
No it wouldn’t. People respond to names. Alonso, Hamilton, Schumacher – these are things people look for and click on. Bland terms like “drivers” are not.
I’m not indifferent to complaints that some drivers get too much coverage compared to others. But as I’ve already said, we’re only talking about the headline, the entire article mentions all the people involved (not just the drivers).
Frankly, this all seems like a case of it being easier to criticise than contribute.
snowman
16th June 2011, 17:38
See Paddy Lowe is going to be their, so what about headline “Paddy At The Forum” cause nearly as many people know a Paddy as know Hamilton:-)
JCost (@jcost)
20th June 2011, 16:22
On point!
I can’t wait to see how good will Paddy deliver in Valencia!
We all respect the work behind the drivers but we can’t get it twisted. Driver is the face of the team. Newey get lots of love just like Rory Byrne once did, but the fact Vettel is “the face” of Red Bull does not mean his work is not fairly respected.
Liked your joke. :)
infy (@infy)
16th June 2011, 23:01
Thanks for the reply.
At least you dont say “Pitpass editor Chriss Sylt…” in every single one of your articles like mentioned F1 site does. Man that annoys me. How egotistic can an editor be?
electrolite (@electrolite)
16th June 2011, 17:58
It’s just basic journalism. Hamilton’s a popular guy and those who don’t like him will still most likely read the article because his name is there.
Solo (@solo)
17th June 2011, 11:49
All i see in polishboy’s comments are: “I hate that driver why does he exist, i want to pretend he doesn’t exist and this articles spoil my fan”.
All i have to say is GET OVER IT!
Ridiculous criticism is ridiculous.
Bleeps_and_Tweaks (@bleeps_and_tweaks)
16th June 2011, 15:16
Good shout, thanks for the heads up Keith.
tobinen
16th June 2011, 15:57
Shouldn’t it be Paddy Lowe?
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
16th June 2011, 16:01
It should – fixed the typo.
John H
16th June 2011, 16:53
Whilst I disagree with polishboy, “kobayashi and Hamilton” would have been a much more refreshing headline in the current climate. But I don’t want to seem too critical! Team principals being at the fans forum is a given really.
Kisii
16th June 2011, 17:22
I find it interesting that F1 fans fail to realize how important it is to have a super star in their sport. It doesn’t matter whether or not you like Hamilton as a person or as a driver, after all he will eventually leave F1, but while he is in the sport F1 needs as much exposure as it can get through him…call it “cultural capital”.
Next time you want a grand prix and you can’t get it because no one knows what F1 is in your town…you will understand why you need to have Hamilton et al in the headlines.
Kisii
16th June 2011, 17:22
Stellar job as always, Keith!
timi
16th June 2011, 18:55
Phwoar Hamilton, and Kob!! I’d love to attend that!! Are there any details on how to be able to attend?!
AndrewTanner (@andrewtanner)
17th June 2011, 19:37
Read the article ;)
Icemangrins
16th June 2011, 21:11
I wish I live in the UK.. BBC coverage, F1 fan forum, Nandos :-(
joseph
16th June 2011, 21:37
how far from england do you live?
I live near monaco and can get bbc TV by pointing a satalite dish at astra 2 and having a sky box
Malibu_GP
16th June 2011, 21:48
There’s a expression used in the movie business that usually indicates when folks inaccurately think their suggestions are relevent. Some are…, however most are not. We say ‘ everyone wants to be a director’, only one of Us is. I think that expression is fitting here.
SupaSix-1
17th June 2011, 18:58
Think this is getting very ridiculous now.
I dont see why some have to give Keith a hardtime about it – It seems like the name Lewis Hamilton has the power to send some people into a rage – and makes people lash out.
If you dont like the headlines …dont read it.
AndrewTanner (@andrewtanner)
17th June 2011, 19:38
Looking forward to seeing an article on this one.
Kris
23rd June 2011, 15:12
I got invited by FOTA!!!!
Lenny (@lenny)
23rd June 2011, 18:06
Same here!! Does that mean you can just show up and get in, what does it mean by first come first served??