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FROM a sheepish pretender to a serious contender, Lewis Hamilton’s journey into Formula One folklore has been singularly fascinating so far.
And on Sunday in Barcelona, the 22-year-old Briton crossed another milestone by becoming the youngest driver (at the age of 22 years and 127 days) to lead the standings after a third straight second place. Coincidentally, Hamilton beat the record (by a month and two days) of the founder of the team he drivers for – Bruce McLaren.
This follows the podium finish in his debut race in Australia and two second places in Malaysia and Bahrain giving him a sequence of 3-2-2-2 and 30 points, two points ahead of teammate Fernando Alonso.
I don’t think any other sportsperson has made such a powerful and potentially pathbreaking entry into sports in recent times, not in Formula One at least. Yes, Boris Becker comes close with his Wimbledon exploits as an unseeded teenager in 1986.
Pele’s early exploits are part of a bygone generation while Tiger Woods took his time to bloom. Even cricket’s master blasters Sachin Tendulkar and Brian Lara had to wait a while before giving full expression to their seemingly limitless talents. Ditto with Pete Sampras and Roger Federer, and Steve Davis and Lance Armstrong to name a few legends.
In Britain itself, Wayne Rooney is yet to make a mark on the world stage, and Andy Murray and Amir Khan, the other two great sporting hopes of a success-starved nation, are still waiting for global success.
But Hamilton in a matter of five months has not only elevated himself into a celebrity and turned himself into a champion in waiting, but has also taken the sport to new heights for expectation and excitement.
At another level, Hamilton seems to have upset the pecking order within the McLaren team itself. The shy lad from Stevenage, Hertfordshire, was expected to be the understudy to teammate Alonso, adhere to the so called ethics of a junior driver, display enough defer for senior teammate, and learn from the two-time champion.
Having watched Hamilton’s daring exploits in Australia and Malaysia, his deft skill in Bahrain and a determined drive in Barcelona, I fear the pupil-and-master roles are changing, and changing swiftly much to the discomfort of team boss Ron Dennis.
That according to me is another fascinating sub-plot in what is turning into a humdinger of a Formula One season.
But having said all that, including the obvious and odious comparisons, I still think Bernie Ecclestone made the most striking point over the weekend when he almost said Hamilton is the next Michael Schumacher of Formula One.
Hamilton has been compared to Woods (remember the ‘Tiger on wheels’ quote), even heralded as the Pele of Formula One, which I suspect is more because of their matching colours rather than contexts, but very few talked of the two in a favourable light.
“If Hamilton, 22, wore Schumacher’s helmet when racing during Grand Prix weekends, no-one would know it was not the famous German inside the car,” said Ecclestone sparking a mouthwatering debate.
“And, he will do whatever he has to do to win races, and if by any chance he happens to be a world champion because of that, then that is how it is. It is a bonus.”
I’m sure this talk will go on as Hamilton will continue to live his dream in pursuit of Formula One glory.
In the, meantime, here is how Schumacher’s first year as world champion progressed in 1994. The German won the first four races for Benetton Ford – the Brazilian, Pacific, San Marino and Moncao – for a straight 1-1-1-1.
Schumacher went on to win four more races – Canadian, French, Hungarian and European – before controversially beating another Briton Damon Hill of Williams-Renault by a mere point (92 to 91) for his first of seven world titles.
Hamilton has so far a sequence of 3-2-2-2 and as far as controversy – absolutely nil – even though he was very close to Felippe Massa and Alonso when they touched at the first curve in Barcelona on Sunday.
But the last time a Briton led the Formula One standings which was in 2003 when David Coulthard won the inaugural Australian Grand Prix, the following also happened, according to The Times:
● The spaceshuttle Columbia disintegrated over Texas on re-entry.
● Concorde flew for the final time.
● Australia won the cricket World Cup but were denied by the boot of Jonny Wilkinson in the Rugby Union version.
● The average house price in Briton was an affordable-looking £149,935.
● Arnold Schwarzenegger was elected Governor of California.
● AC Milan beat Juventus in the Champions League final.
● Above all, a young driver named Lewis Hamilton won the Formula Renault UK Series.
Exciting times are ahead of Hamilton and Formula One as we move on to Monaco for the May 27 race.
By Vijay Mruthyunjaya
vmruthyunjay@gmail.com
