Posts Tagged ‘formula1’

Lewis News

Lewis News

If Anyone Can Speed Its Lewis Hamilton

So the story has hit the world's press about Lewis Hamilton, the Formula 1 superstar, being caught speeding. Not to be blase, but it is not really surprising.

Firstly, he is a 22 year old man and there are plenty of young men who speed regularly; the fundamental difference I believe is that Lewis Hamilton possesses a Mercedes that is capable of touching 180 miles per hour. Most 22 year old men cannot afford such a car and so are not as likely to make it up to 122 miles an hour on a French A road.

The second point that can be derived from the news story is that if anyone is capable of driving at the rapid speed Lewis Hamilton was caught at, it is a Formula 1driver. Regularly racing at speeds in the one fifties to eighties, a paltry 122 cannot be seen as that fast for a man who makes his living driving at high velocity.

His mental ability to calculate risk and distance have been seen countless times on the racetrack throughout the last season, going along a motorway is probably an easy task for someone who's mind is constantly in overdrive.

Road campaigners will argue that as a popular public figure he should curtail his speed for the sake of his fans. There is no doubt that his popularity is huge at the moment and hoards of fans follow his progress throughout the season. Possessing such worldwide celebrity is reason enough to slow down, or at least not to get caught.

Other racers have been caught speeding in the last month and we have heard nothing of it; Ralf Schumacher was recently caught doing 130 km/h in an eighty zone and has been banned once before. These racers are in fact that; racers. Be it on the track or the road, the temptation to floor the accelerator seems to take over.

Lewis Hamilton has been slapped with a one month ban on his driving license and given a four hundred and thirty pound fine. Both are not serious for the young Formula 1 star. The fine can be viewed as pocket change when considering the money Hamilton earns in a season while the ban will not affect him greatly.

For his regular trips between Switzerland and England he will now have to fly, I am sure Lewis will be vexed at this fact but it is little more than an annoyance. I am sure he enjoyed his cross country drives.

McLaren have stated 'we are aware that Lewis was stopped for speeding in France whilst driving in a private capacity.' They were insistent that it would not affect his professional driving career, and nor should it, racing drivers have always been caught out by driving offences.

Only if you drive for Ferrari and get caught in Italy will you get away with it, every other police force in the world relishes the chance to catch racing drivers such as Lewis Hamilton as it sets an example and gives great publicity. Hamilton can consider himself fortunate he was not in Italy, as home of McLaren's major rival it is a certainty the penalty would have been harsher.

Racing drivers will always drive at high speeds, it is there trade and seemingly they operate at a higher brain speed than the rest of us. This does not however give them reason to speed, they may well be able to compute driving situations with great rapidity but the rest of us on the road cannot.

It is understandable that road safety campaigners will be up in arms about the incident but Lewis has received his punishment, although it will probably happen again in his career I am sure it will make him stop and think for as long as his hyperactive brain will allow.

Huey Lewis And The News - If This Is It (2006 Digital...

Grand Prix

Grand Prix

Monaco Grand Prix Tops Travel Poll

Europe's Monaco Grand Prix has been voted as the favourite destination by British people as the ultimate sports event to visit.

No other sporting event comes near to being able to combine the year round sophistication and glamour of Monte Carlo with the heady excitement of F1's premier annual race on the streets of Monaco. The interest in F1 has been in decline in recent years in the UK, and it is a surprise perhaps that the Monaco Grand Prix has managed to retain her legendary status.

Part of the decline has been since television coverage in the UK switched from the BBC to ITV, with ITV running advertisements during the race.

But the biggest factor for the declining interest of F1 in the UK has been the marked lack of success in the sport for British drivers, with Damon Hill and Nigel Mansell the last two Britons to consistently win races and championships.

This year has seen the most open championship in some years, following the retirement of ace German driver Michael Schumacher.Seven times World Champion Michael Schumacher retired from racing at the end of the 2006 season, and his departure has increased the possibility of no individual driver dominating for some time to come.

The ace German driver won his championships in 1994 and 1995, and between 2000 and 2004 won five championships in a row.

A new star has entered the arena of F1, and it's a Briton, helping to re-ignite British interest in the sport, and going some way perhaps to explain the British love affair with the Monaco Grand Prix.

Lewis Hamilton is a 22-year-old Formula One racecar rookie who has taken the racing circuit by storm this year, finishing on the podium in third place in his first Grand Prix in Melbourne, Australia, and then second in the Malaysian Grand Prix just two weeks later, then becoming the first driver to take three podium finishes in his first three races. He may seem to be an overnight sensation, but he's worked his way into the Formula One racing world since he was a mere youngster.

In an almost unbelievable stroke of luck, young eleven-year-old Lewis participated in, and won, the McLaren Mercedes Champions of the Future series in 1996 and met Ron Dennis, owner and director of the McLaren Formula One racing team. The introduction proved fortuitous for the youngster, who told Dennis that his goal was to race the Formula One circuit. A mere two years later, McLaren signed Lewis Hamilton to his 'McLaren Driver Development Support' program. The document served to make Lewis, at thirteen years old, the youngest driver in the world to have held an F1 racing contract.

As Lewis became more experienced and participated in pre-Formula One races, he distinguished himself with his dedication and gusto. The boy with the impish grin is still grinning as he poses for publicity shots at various pre-Formula One racing venues in which he has raced, including 2005's F3 Euro series, which he finished with 15 victories and 13 pole positions.

Lewis spent years racing go-karts and participating in Junior Formula One racing events, including the 2001 British F1 Renault winter series and the 2002 Formula Renault UK, as well as races in Macau and Korea's Grand Prix races. In 2005, Autosport magazine ranked Lewis 24th among their top 50 drivers.

As he has worked his way up the ranks, Lewis fast earned a reputation as an extremely gifted driver with the flair for daring racing maneuvers that reminds many of the 'old timers', who maintained top speeds and risky moves as they raced various courses around the world. His star seems to be rising as fast and surely as one of the the first black Formula One racecar drivers in the world.

In 2007, Lewis was signed on as a full time Formula One driver for McLaren's Formula One racing team, a dream come true for the vibrant, personable racer. He made his Formula One racing debut recently at the Australian Grand Prix this March, coming in third at the prestigious event in Melbourne.

Pontiac Grand Prix Timeline