hercules07: Thank God for the Ferrari car, hopefully massa will find some pace somewhere.

[size=14pt]BBC: Formula 1's greatest drivers. Number 15: Lewis Hamilton[/size]
By Andrew Benson



When Lewis Hamilton burst onto the Formula 1 scene in 2007, taking on and often beating the reigning world champion Fernando Alonso in equal cars, in Italy they gave him the nickname 'Il Phenomeno' - the Phenomenon.

As a description of his naked talent, that remains as accurate as ever. But an altogether more complex picture of this fascinating, thrillingly brilliant racing driver has emerged since.

Use accessible player and disable flyout menusWinning in the wet - Monaco GP 2008

In terms of raw ability, very few in the history of F1 can compare with Hamilton. He can do with a racing car things of which most can only dream. As his current team-mate at McLaren Jenson Button put it: "Lewis is one of the fastest drivers ever to race in F1."

Coupled with that breathtaking pace is an ability to overtake that is just as rare, just as dazzling.

Both were on display from the very start of his F1 career, when he passed Alonso around the outside of the first corner in Australia in 2007 and proceeded to lead the Spaniard for much of the grand prix, before being passed during a pit-stop period.

What Hamilton achieved in that debut year still beggars belief; he finished on the podium for his first nine races, winning two of them, and led the championship for much of the season.

In doing so, Alonso was destabilised to the point that his relationship with McLaren completely imploded - and the pressure created by two such towering talents in one organisation almost brought the team to its knees, too.

Use accessible player and disable flyout menusHamilton loses title - Chinese GP 2007

The intensity of the battle led also to the world title slipping through Hamilton's fingers - and with it the chance to win the championship in his rookie year, a record that would almost certainly have stood for ever.

He - and Alonso, for that matter - ended up missing out by a single point. It was nevertheless clear that a unique talent had arrived.

Even the very best drivers have weaknesses, though, and Hamilton is no exception.

In Hamilton's case, his natural talent is so great that he can drive almost any car; perhaps this is partly behind what appears to be less of an aptitude for the engineering side of his job than some of his team-mates have had.

There were in 2007, for example, times when he failed to get the set-up of his car right and Alonso's greater ability in that area enabled him to leave Hamilton trailing. Likewise, McLaren have tended to lean more on Button in recent years for an engineering direction than on his team-mate.


There have also been noticeable occasions when Hamilton's results were compromised by an apparent need sometimes to lean on the team for decisions a driver of his greatness should have been able to make himself.

The most striking of these - although there have been others - was in the penultimate race of 2007 in China. Hamilton needed only to finish third to clinch the title, but McLaren allowed themselves to be distracted by the unnecessary task of getting him to finish ahead of Alonso.

They left him out too long on over-worn tyres, Hamilton did not overrule them, and he ended up sliding off into retirement on his way into the pits. It was an error that put Kimi Raikkonen in a position to snatch the title for Ferrari at the final race.

Hamilton did win the championship the following year, but only by the skin of his teeth after making far too many mistakes in a battle with Ferrari's Felipe Massa.

He followed that with two outstanding seasons in which his driving was of the highest calibre, but his machinery did not match it.

In 2009, which McLaren started with their worst car for 14 years, he stuck with it and took two brilliant victories as his machinery improved in the second half of the season.

Use accessible player and disable flyout menusTaking the title - Brazilian GP 2008

The following year he was even better, in serious contention for the championship in what was generally the third fastest car until errors in two consecutive races in Italy and Singapore took him out of the running.

But then came 2011, when the combination of starting another year without a car capable of battling for the title coupled with ructions in his personal life brought him close to meltdown.

There were three victories - the ones in China and Germany particularly outstanding - but also far too many basic mistakes.

Hamilton ended the year talking about it being his "worst season" and admitting a need to reset his approach over the winter and try to get back to being in "a good place" mentally.

As those remarks attest, Hamilton tended through the first five years of his career to wear his heart on his sleeve.

Use accessible player and disable flyout menusClassic F1 - Canadian Grand Prix 2007

Just as his daring and combative approach on the track lost him races as well as won them, his willingness to say what was on his mind attracted admiration and trouble in equal measure.

In 2012, he has so far taken a more measured approach - both on the track and with the media.

After finishing third in Malaysia following a comparatively subdued drive in mixed conditions one might have thought were made for him, Hamilton made a remark that was very revealing of his new attitude.

"I can't for the life of me understand how I did it in 2007," he said, explaining his ambition to finish on the podium in every race this year, "so I'm trying to repeat that."

The difference is that in 2012 he is trying to recreate with deliberation something that came naturally in 2007.

It remains to be seen whether that conscious conservatism can be married successfully with the unique off-the-cuff improvisational approach that makes him so exciting and, at his best, so effective.

As he told this writer this year: "I never plan to have those kinds of races, they just evolve unexpectedly."

When they do, when he is at his best, it unlocks something truly exceptional - Hamilton has produced drives that stand comparison with any in the history of the sport.

Use accessible player and disable flyout menusClassic F1 - British Grand Prix 2008

His wet-weather wins in Fuji 2007, Silverstone 2008 and Spa 2010 were as good as any by Ayrton Senna or Michael Schumacher; his swashbuckling victories in Canada 2010 and China and the Nurburgring last year are comparable with those of other great fighters such as Gilles Villeneuve or Nigel Mansell.

Asked in Canada last year whether he compared himself to Schumacher, he responded by saying he hoped by the end of his career he would be likened more to Senna and Villeneuve.

In many ways, the comparison is already valid. Hamilton's natural ability is so huge that, if he can find a way to channel it to best effect, there are virtually no limits to what he can achieve.

Chib4u: @Beaf u are so right about Andrew aka Alonso and Button do no wrong. For me I think the whole bbc crew apart from Jordan are biased towwards Lewis expecially Coultyard..I am patiently waiting for where they will put Button because if Lewis is 15 then Button shouldn't be on the list

taurus21: C'mon Hamilton you can do dis....steo on it

aieromon:
Yeah it looks like its all over the monaco track doesn't give much space for easy overtake just too narrow Shumercher is out! Dats a shame after he's superb run in d qualifiers
With Vettel in front of him,hmm.

BBC analyst and former F1 designer Gary Anderson has claimed that Mark Webber could have done more to help Sebastian Vettel secure a podium finish in the Monaco Grand Prix.

While Webber started from pole position and went on to secure his first win of the year, Vettel started down in ninth place having failed to set a time in Q3 and then elected to take a different strategy to the cars ahead as he went with the harder of the two compound of tyres for his first stint.

Beaf: ^
Lol! What would he have had Webber do? The pack tightened right up when they were playing first to blink in the rain toward the end. Vettel didn't need any help. Any help from Webber would most certainly have secured his loss.

omar22:

Vettel needed a 20 sec gap, and Vettel had a 16 sec gap on webber, before Webber turned on the tap and started closing Vettel down, Anderson was saying that Webber could have backed up the pack and let Vettel open up a 20 sec gap, may thats why Vettel was bitter and decided not to show up at the swimming pool to celebrate Marks win.

Beaf: Reb Bulls floor has been declared illegal and must be changed before Canada.
I don't see why they should have escaped without a points deduction or outright disqualification from the last 3 races. Afterall, it amounts to blatantly flouting the ban on blown diffusers.

Chib4u:

If that was mclaren it would have come with some heavy fine and points deducted both drivers and constructors...SMH