F1

Why does Lewis get so much criticism?

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  • #296789
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    It seems no matter what he does, Lewis is seemingly on the receiving end of a staggering amount of criticism from F1 watchers and people active on social media. I think he has done nothing to warrant such a level of analysis and attack.

    I see on many channels (this one included) people saying he’s arrogant, cocky etc etc, without ever seeing evidence of it. They have a go at his appearance, girlfriend, home location … which no-other driver gets.

    e.g. Kimi and Jenson have tattoos, so why do people attack Lewis for his?!

    For those that were around during Ayrton Senna’s racing years, I don’t see how Lewis’ conduct is any worse than Senna’s. Senna was regularly moody, and utterly ruthless when it came to his on-track behaviour. Kimi has legions of fans, yet is sullen and unsmiling almost all the time.

    Any thoughts?

    #296794
    glynh
    Participant

    All drivers get picked on, rosberg recently for complaining and vettel got alot of abuse when he was winning.

    Hamilton has flaws and I think he does seem to be arrogant/complain sometimes but he does also do alot of good things like all the drivers.

    I think hamilton gets more printed about him because he gets attention for things out of f1 and, of course, alot of people don’t like someone who gets alot of wins..

    #296797
    Strontium
    Participant

    Part of the problem is how vocal his fans are, make everybody else slightly more vocal, and it increases from there more and more on both sides.

    Part of the problem also, is that the fans always make a big deal about every single negative comment they see. If they just accepted it like with any other driver then it wouldn’t be an issue. So essentially, the reason is that the fans make a big deal making it seem worse than any other driver, so they create the problem themselves. One example is this very forum page.


    @glynh
    ‘s comment evidences what I am saying. All drivers get picked on, but the Hamilton fans are very defensive.

    Note: This is purely my view on things, I do not want to offend anyone, or anything like this, so please don’t take this badly.

    #296801
    F1antics
    Participant

    Any thoughts?

    Yes. Racism. I really cannot see any other reason for the totally irrational and unfair comments that I hear and read about him. It strikes me that people know they can’t say what they really think – that they don’t like people who aren’t white – and they certainly don’t like to see them succeed. So they try to justify their prejudice in other ways, but aren’t intelligent enough to realise they haven’t found a single thing to criticise that doesn’t also apply to other drivers.

    My aunt said she didn’t like Lewis because he’s a womanizer, but that she did like “that nice Jenson Button”. My own understanding is that Jenson used to be known as a bit of a playboy and womanizer before he settled down (in fact some commentators have said that he and his father were quite notorious, so that seems to be a widely-held view even if it’s not true), but I’ve not seen much evidence that Lewis is a womanizer – he seems to have been a bit of a one-woman man. So what could have prompted her view of Lewis vs Button if not prejudice?

    I met someone at the Barcelona testing this year who said he didn’t like Lewis, but that he felt Button was a “gentleman” who represented Britain at its best. What did he mean? I’ve known Jenson to come across as quite bitchy, in his day, and I certainly don’t think he’s any more or less of a ‘gentleman’. Did he really mean, deep down, that Jenson’s white (and therefore British with a capital B) and Lewis isn’t?

    Another acquaintance who watches F1 a lot says he doesn’t like Lewis because he wears sunglasses. But he likes Alonso and Kimi. Since then I’ve watched carefully and I can’t see much difference in sunglass-wearing behaviour, so it seems to me he’s grabbing at straws to justify his dislike – because he’d come across as a bit of a prat if he said it was because he was black.

    Many pundits, including very well-known ones, have said that Lewis isn’t intelligent (not just in comparison to Rosberg, although that has also been said – and I couldn’t disagree more). I’ve never heard them say anything similar about the white drivers. Yet Lewis strikes me as a very intelligent driver, not just in the way he adapts to different driving conditions and different technical eras, but in the way he’s managing his career and promoting the sport to the public. He comes across well on TV, seeming intelligent and good-humoured. So what is it about Lewis that makes these white commentators think he’s stupid?

    You mention criticism of his tattoos and I agree, if a white driver has tattoos that seems to be OK. If a white driver sprays champagne (which they have for decades) that’s OK. If a white driver does practically anything, that’s OK. If Lewis does the same things, it isn’t. So there does seem to be a different set of rules and tolerances for him. I’m sticking to my theory that this is to do with race, because I can’t see any other explanation for the prejudice I see. But of course if Lewis was to say that, he’d be crucified – because it’s not something you’re allowed to discuss openly; if you do, it delights and encourages the bullies.

    #296804
    Strontium
    Participant

    To say it is racism is absolutely incorrect. Also, I have never heard of anyone ever saying Hamilton is not intelligent – quite the opposite in fact.

    His attitude irritates some people. His fragile mental strength makes him whine about things and have bad races, or even years (2011?), yet when he is strong and on form he makes himself look really really good in interviews, etc. Look at what happened after Monaco: Rosberg had the mental edge over Hamilton, and Hamilton underperformed for the next few races.

    He tries to act like some pop star celebrity, unlike other drivers, and many fans don’t really respect that (just being honest – also, that may be why people don’t agree with his sunglasses). Also, he does seem very full of himself a lot of the time. He has been known to shroud himself in controversy unnecessarily (Button unfollowed me), and people don’t like that.

    No doubt he is a great driver, and I personally have a lot of respect for him on track, but he does not help himself off track.

    That said, racism is simply the last thing that crosses most people’s minds when they criticise. Honestly, it is so narrow minded to just assume it is racism. Fact is, most people couldn’t care less about his race.

    #296842
    McL88AsAp
    Participant

    People love Kimi actually because his “coolness” Hamilton on other side, exposed alot himself which made people don’t like also honestly Hamilton fans are diffrent like no other, which made them unable to see his weakness and always criticizes his rivals. I don’t want to attack anyone but this is my opinion.

    #296848
    sebsronnie
    Participant

    @Strontium, are you truly being honest about not ever hearing Lewis being called “unintelligent”? Really?

    #296850
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    @strontium I think you make some fair points; certainly Lewis doesn’t sometimes help himself (the Button/twitter thing especially) and how moody he got after Rosberg’s ‘spin’ in Monaco 2014 being examples.

    But what does ‘pop star celebrity’ mean? Doesn’t every driver wear sunglasses? Is it the expensive cars (which all F1 drivers have), Monaco apartment (ditto), pop star girlfriend (many drivers have had models or actresses as partners – Stirling Moss, James Hunt, and so on), the clothing (again anyone earning that kind of money will have an expensive wardrobe?)

    Why didn’t Eddie Irvine get any grief, who was a self-confessed womaniser, drinker and party animal? And if Rush had any degree of truth, James Hunt ‘consumed’ a lot of ‘product’- yet people admire his lifestyle!

    So taking all of this into account, what makes Lewis different to every other driver? And that’s what leads to the point made by @f1antics

    #296851
    PorscheF1
    Participant

    That said, racism is simply the last thing that crosses most people’s minds when they criticise. Honestly, it is so narrow minded to just assume it is racism. Fact is, most people couldn’t care less about his race.

    I care about his race.

    #296852
    PorscheF1
    Participant

    Jokes aside;

    So taking all of this into account, what makes Lewis different to every other driver? And that’s what leads to the point made by @f1antics

    It doesn’t make him different. It’s only Hamilton fans acting that way because we occasionally say a bad word about their hero. Perfect example is this very topic. Another one is how they always find a way to play the racism-card.

    I agree with @strontium that racism is the last thing that I see as a valid reason why people comment on Hamilton his behavior. Sure their’ll be some but we’ve got several nationalities on the grid and it is an international sport.

    I for one really don’t like his shifting state of mind / his entire pop-star lifestyle, this does not include sunglasses and living in Monaco but his fantasy rap career based only on being rich. His necklace really makes me smile. His attitude at times really makes me wonder what age he is, not including buying sportscar because I’d also do that. I don’t follow him on twitter but some of his tweets make me wonder how high he is at times.

    But next to that I can only admire the man for his success in F1 but if he wasn’t an F1 driver I simply would not be bothered befriending him where as I’d love to have a pint with Alonso and Webber and talk about cars and then also I’d feel #blessed.

    #296854
    Girts
    Participant

    There are probably many reasons for this.

    1) All the great drivers get more criticism than the “decent” ones, you can say the same thing about Schumacher or Alonso. Partly it is because they get much more attention, their every step is closely watched and social media has only increased the exposure (drivers like Senna would probably get even more flak nowadays). It could also be that the best drivers tend to be closer to the limit – not only on the track – and sometimes they overstep the
    bounds.

    2) If we are talking about the British fans, then I have noticed that the “dissidents” are particularly active on the Internet. For instance, you can find a lot of scathing comments about Vettel in German and I assume it’s the same in the UK – those fans, who don’t like their local heroes, tend to be particularly loud.

    3) Some fans are simply unintelligent and do not get that a driver’s tattoos and his appearance have nothing to do with his driving. It is OK not to like tattoos (I do not like them too) but it is his own choice to have them and they do not make him a worse driver or a worse man.

    4) Racism is still alive so I guess there are at least some people, who simply do not like him because he is black but do not admit it and hide their phobia behind other reasons.

    5) Hamilton is not perfect and sometimes he says or does controversial things. That does not mean he is a bad person but sometimes the criticism makes sense.

    6) F1 is about passion and you cannot really expect Vettel fans or Rosberg fans to love Hamilton. However, some fans are able to express their opinions in an intelligent way and some are not.

    #296857
    sebsronnie
    Participant

    @xtwl

    It’s only Hamilton fans acting that way because we occasionally say a bad word about their hero

    Occasionally? What planet are you living on?

    #296859
    PorscheF1
    Participant

    Occasionally? What planet are you living on?

    One where relativity is a thing.

    #296862
    Strontium
    Participant

    In fairness people do say quite a lot of negative stuff against him, but like I said before, I think it’s largely due to how vocal the Hamilton fans are, which frustrates other people.

    #296865
    safeeuropeanhome
    Participant

    No one has more vocal fans than Raikkonen, and yet I don’t see him getting anywhere near the criticism that Lewis does. And I say this as a fan of both Hamilton and Raikkonen.

    In the UK people who are successful are not treated as well as those who try hard but ultimately have less success. The public loves a underdog, and Hamilton who has been in a potential race winning car from the very first race of his career doesn’t really fit that bill, compared to someone like Jenson Button who had to toil for a long time to achieve his success. British people seem to be the ones who criticise Hamilton more than anyone else, although I will admit that in general Hamilton seems to be a person that people either really like or can’t stand from what I have read over the years in different forums. There is no grey area, people either love him or hate him, and when you have two opposing sides with such strong feelings one way or the other then the level and extent of the criticism is going to be bigger.

    I don’t think it is racism, he just seems to have a personality that rubs certain people the wrong way. Personally I don’t care what he does in his private life, its his life, its his money, its his body and he can do what he wants. As far as I’m concerned the only thing I judge him on is what he does on track, maybe some people can’t make that distinction though. I say if he wants to dress like a rapper, who cares, as long as he drives well on track.

    I actually don’t think its unfair to call Lewis unintelligent based on his behaviour outside the car, but people confuse what he does outside the car with what he does inside it. There are different types of intelligence and its clear that behind the wheel of a racing car he is incredibly intelligent with what he does, and he always has been. But in day to day life? In his interviews he doesn’t strike come across as particularly erudite, the thing he did at Spa with putting the data on Twitter was certainly a stupid thing to do, and it doesn’t help that people often compare him to Rosberg, who speaks six languages or whatever. But intelligence in these situations doesn’t necessarily translate to intelligence behind the wheel.

    The persona out of the car gets confused with the persona inside the car. People always assumed that Rosberg must be the more intelligent driver, 1) because people like labels and putting people in boxes and 2) it fits their personality outside the car. But I think we can all see that this notion of Rosberg having superior racecraft and intelligence to Hamilton is a complete myth.

    Will Buxton wrote a blog before the decider last season where he analysed both Rosberg and Hamilton, which I thought was interesting, as he suggests that Hamilton may even have deliberately cultivated this idea that he isn’t smart in order to gain a mental advantage over his rivals. Something along the lines of ‘the greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist.’

    https://willthef1journo.wordpress.com/2014/11/19/the-contenders-lewis-hamilton/ Here is the article if anyone is interested.

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