Barring cries of “Yes we can”, the homecoming of Lewis Hamilton to McLaren
headquarters last week could have been mistaken for another notable
celebration across the Atlantic. The production was every bit as glitzy and
stage-managed as Barack Obama’s acceptance speech for the American
presidency in Grant Park, Chicago, a few hours before.
McLaren cannot let the mask drop for a second, so the whole workforce was
dressed in fluorescent orange tops and Steve Rider was imported to
choreograph the press conference. There was even a radiant first lady,
Nicole Scherzinger, reduced from chief Pussycat Doll to part of the chorus
line for the day. And throughout the show, the youngest-ever Formula One
world champion did not put a foot wrong or let a syllable slip out of place.
Ron Dennis, the team boss who had invested millions in developing his
potential, who had insisted that the 13-year-old should spend more time with
his books than at the go-kart track in preparation for his anointment as
world champion, had a right to feel proud.
Only slowly has the truth dawned about that dramatic final lap at Interlagos.
Not just 18 seconds away from losing the world title, McLaren were 18
seconds away from losing their driver, because it is hard to imagine the
trust between mentor and pupil, between team and driver, surviving the
fall-out of a flawed strategy in which Hamilton had no say. He must have
felt as if he was back at school. “All weekend we had said to Lewis, ‘Don’t
question what we ask you to do, just do it’,” Dennis revealed. “We’ve guided
his career, he’s not going to challenge us. We determined his pace
throughout the race, so at the end he was saying, ‘Hey, what’s happening?’”
Hamilton would have challenged the team hard had Timo Glock’s Toyota not
slowed dramatically on the last lap, allowing the 23-year-old Briton to slip
past on the final corner to seal an historic title. Although McLaren had
been crunching data all week, not even the fifth-largest civilian computer
in Britain, housed at the McLaren Technology Centre, could have calculated
the exact parameters of a last-minute cloudburst over the track, a change to
wet tyres for all the contenders bar the Toyotas of Glock and Jarno Trulli,
the hard-charging Sebastian Vettel and the chaos of a race slipping beyond
technology and into the lap of the gods.
Hamilton has always talked about his destiny. Those who knew him from an early
age understood that here was a young man with an almost ethereal belief in
his own ability. Standing outside the garage in the rain at Interlagos in
the aftermath of victory, Dr Aki Hintsa, the team’s head of human
performance, spoke of the spiritual dimension to Hamilton’s character.
“We were talking before the race about what might happen and I told him I have
the belief that the righteous in the world will win,” said the Finn. “That’s
why we didn’t panic. I have to say in the middle of the last lap, I thought
my prophecy might not be right, but in the last corner, ah, it was okay.
Lewis talks about a belief in God, which is easy for me to understand
because I was a missionary in Africa for three years. I served God, so I
know about that. I believe in destiny. I believe that we are more than human
beings.”
The problem for outsiders is that Hamilton’s profound self-belief can come
across as arrogance. There are parallels here with Tiger Woods, another
black champion in a predominantly white sport. Last week, speaking to a
group of British journalists, Hamilton tried to outline the complexity of
his relationship with his British public, some of whom misconstrued his
decision to live in Switzerland.
“It saddens me sometimes that people get a different opinion of me,” he said.
“It’s okay because I’m young and I’ll be here, hopefully, for some time,
because it might be a slow process. But I will do everything I can to win
them over and show them that I am a true person, a normal person with good
values and morals.
“Communication is such a huge thing. Things can get mixed up, even with my
brother when I say something and he takes it the wrong way. That’s just the
way of the world. But people who know me know that my confidence and
self-belief is nothing to do with arrogance. It’s to do with what we needed
to get here and the belief I have in my ability and the opportunity I have
if I work hard.
“It’s not: ‘I’m here and I’m the best and I need to do this, this and this’.
I’ve got some gift and as long as I hone that and work on it harder than
anyone else, I’ll get the most out of it. I don’t take it [the criticism] as
negativity. I owe it to my country to come back here, I love my people, I
love my country, I love the support, but I’m just happy where I am and you
do what you do to be happy.”
That is typical Hamilton, soft on the outside, rock-hard inside. A brush with
the paparazzi last year gave him an insight into what his life might be like
in London. Within a couple of months, he was living in Geneva, enjoying the
freedom of walking down the street unrecognised and the peace and
tranquillity of the mountains.
“This is my home; Switzerland is where I live,” he explained. “I don’t have
all my friends there, which could be a distraction. Meeting up and going out
in London, partying and stuff like that – I did that last year and haven’t
done it this year. I’ve been getting away and doing what I need to do to win
the world championship. I love being around the mountains, I love the area.
It gives you peace, but I also love coming home.”
Hamilton might never evoke the affection of Nigel Mansell, “Our Nige”. But
that is hardly his fault. Hamilton has been groomed as a global superstar
for 10 years; he is champion of a sport without boundaries. He has all the
trappings of international celebrity, including the glittering girlfriend
and an earning capacity beyond comprehension. It just happens that he was
born on a council estate in Stevenage.
His career now moves into a different phase. He is no longer the young charger
learning his trade, he is the champion. Felipe Massa will be snapping at his
heels again, the Renault of Fernando Alonso has shown a surprising turn of
pace in the latter part of the season, and Hamilton has nominated Robert
Kubica as a potential long-term rival. “The challenge now is to keep
winning,” said Dennis. “I see Lewis having a long and fruitful career.”
The real impact of last weekend might be felt by all Hamilton’s rivals next
season. Asked how he had managed to adapt to a race strategy designed not to
win, but to finish fifth, he replied: “It wasn’t as hard as I thought. I
felt comfortable there. You are fighting it the whole time. I wanted to
catch Kimi [Raikkonen], I knew I had more speed in me, but it was a great
experience and one that I will hopefully be able to use in the future. I
play squash, any game, I push and push, I never play for second. So it was a
new experience to be able to do that. It’s a great strength to have.
Hopefully it will win me another championship.”
Michael Schumacher and Alain Prost were the arch-exponents of driving for
position. Often that position was first, but, if that was not possible, both
could harness their emotions to the cause of winning points. If Hamilton has
learnt to balance his natural aggression with caution and cut out the
mistakes that led to a scatter-brain race in Fuji and an elementary error in
Canada, then Interlagos could be a true turning point in his career.
“Mentally, it may be harder now,” said Hintsa. “We know how we reached this
target, now the target for Lewis is not to win one world title, but to be
the best of all time, so we have to do everything a little better. But I
know him so well and believe in him so much that I know he will do this
professionally. Being on the top is a new test, but it will not be difficult
for him. The people around him will help him. Above all, he needs to stay
humble, extremely humble.”
7
Record number of Formula One drivers’ championships won by Michael Schumacher
between 1994 and 2004. Lewis Hamilton is two years younger than the German
was when he won his first title
A WEEK IN THE LIFE OF THE NEW WORLD CHAMPION
MONDAY
After celebrating his title win the night before, he records interviews with
TV crews in Sao Paulo, then flies back to England TUESDAY
Shows girlfriend Nicole Scherzinger around Stevenage, including his former
home. They go to see the new Bond film at the cinema
WEDNESDAY
Drives McLaren Mercedes F1 car at the McLaren Technology Centre, thanks team,
gives press conference and receives message of congratulations from the Queen
THURSDAY
Attends launch of the Vodafone BlackBerry Storm in London, then travels to
Vodafone HQ to thank the team sponsor. Holds press conference, then goes to
Mercedes-Benz High Performance Engines in Brixworth, Northants, to thank
engine team
FRIDAY
Day off with family and friends
SATURDAY
Travels to Stuttgart to thank Mercedes-Benz at the company HQ. Gives press
conference to international media
THE NEW TIGER WOODS?
AGE Tiger Woods was 21 when he won his first major, the US Masters, in
his first full season as a professional. Hamilton is 23 and made it to world
champion in his second year in F1
FAMILY & BACKGROUND Hamilton and Woods are the first young black
men to reach the top of white, middle-class sports. Both have been hugely
influenced by their fathers. Woods’ father Earl coached him from the age of
three until he turned professional and continued to guide his son until his
death in 2006. Anthony Hamilton quit his job to oversee Lewis’s career
progression from karting to F1 and is still his personal manager
HONOURS Hamilton has just claimed his first world championship.
Michael Schumacher retired at the age of 37, having won seven. Woods, with
14, is second behind Jack Nicklaus (18) in the list of most majors won.
Woods is 32 and, injury permitting, could expect another 5 to 10 years at
the top of the game
PERSONAL FORTUNE In addition to prize money – over $20m last year –
Woods is believed to make $100m a year in endorsements. Leading sponsors are
Nike, Buick, American Express and Accenture.
Hamilton’s world championship victory may lift him to that level. He is
already the face of Vodafone, Tag Heuer and is currently featuring in an ad
campaign for McLaren sponsors Santander. According to Ron Dennis, however,
he receives no bonus to his salary for winning the drivers’ title
YOUNGEST WORLD CHAMPIONS: WHAT HAPPENED NEXT...
- Hamilton became the youngest world champion last week at 23 years and
300 days. He will almost certainly expect to win more titles than the last
two drivers to hold the record:
- Emerson Fittipaldi 1972 25 years 273 days Notched up another
championship two years later and was second to Niki Lauda in 1975. However,
his results declined dramatically after he signed for his older brother
Wilson’s Copersucar team, never winning a race again. He retired from F1 in
1980, at the age of 33, and became involved in the management of the team,
which went into receivership in 1982
- Fernando Alonso 2005 24 years 58 days The Spaniard, driving
for the Renault team, took second place in the season-ending Brazilian Grand
Prix in 2006 to give him back-to-back titles. He then joined McLaren,
embarking on a fierce rivalry with teammate Hamilton. Both were in
contention for the drivers’ championship going into last year’s Brazilian
grand prix but Kimi Raikkonen came through to win the title. Alonso now
drives for Renault again and finished fifth this year
