10 Years On In Canada And They’re Still Winning

This weekend in Canada, Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes were well and truly back. This is a good thing; for Lewis, for the fans, but most of all for Formula One. On Sunday it was as Sir Patrick Stewart put it, “a nice Sunday drive by the lake,” for Lewis, who lead every lap of the 70 lap race, to win the Canadian Grand Prix for the sixth time in his career. It is the fourth time in his career that he has got pole, led every lap, set the fastest lap and won the race in what is called the “grand slam”, more interestingly though, it is the second time this year that he has got a grand slam. This suggests two things, either the previous 10 years in Formula One have been a bit mediocre or this season, he has managed to step up his game even more. I think that you’ll probably find that it is the latter.

This season, we have the clash of the titans in Lewis Hamilton against Sebastian Vettel, who have been the victors of all but one of the last eight world championships between them. Many experts would argue that the German in Vettel has the easier car to drive which seems to suit most tracks and contend for every race as a result, on the other hand, you have the Mercedes of Hamilton which has been described by team boss as a bit of a “diva”, that’s the car, not the driver. The reasoning behind this comment is that despite the Mercedes being as good if not better than the Ferrari, it has a much smaller window in which it performs at high level. The outcome being that Hamilton has been off the pace in two races; Russia and Monaco, two street circuits, which suggests that the next race in Azerbaijan could be a challenge for the Brackley-based team. However, at other tracks, with high speed elements, Hamilton has shone brightest.

The 2017 season is already being labelled unpredictable as the momentum seems to alternate between the two world champions as they push ever harder for the ultimate prize of the greatest driver on the planet. Martin Brundle, a former driver and commentator, observed on Saturday, that the pair seemed to be finding an “overdrive” which pushes themselves and indeed each other to limits that neither they nor we knew were possible. Saturday’s scintillating performance from Hamilton was a prime example of man and machine combining in a concoction so sweet that the racing Gods probably patted themselves on the back for. It was masterful the way that he stayed calm on the wheel as braked later than the bride to a wedding and accelerated, foot-down where no other human would so he could brush a wall so to utilise every inch of speed out of his car. Simply stunning.

Beating his teammate, Valtteri Bottas, who is more than quick by 0.7 seconds in the same car, which is an eternity, when it comes to motorsport was unheard of since the great Ayrton Senna, Hamilton’s hero. And so so it was rather apt that Lewis Hamilton equaled the number of pole positions that the Brazilian champion managed at 65. To make things even more special, the Senna family generously gifted the Briton with a race-worn helmet of Senna’s. Lewis was almost in tears, as were the rest of the racing world as they looked on at Hamilton cradling the distinctive yellow helmet. Whether you are a fan of Hamilton or not, you cannot deny his undeniable talent and speed, he certainly deserved it. What a moment.

It could be argued that Lewis Hamilton is the fastest ever driver to get behind the wheel. His natural ability to get a car to fly around a track, on the edge of control, yet being in complete control in record-breaking time is something that sets him apart from the rest. As well as for his team, he is good for the sport, he brings a new audience to Formula One as he engages with them both at the track as he climbs the barriers to see them or on social media as he shares his life, be it watching basketball with Neymar Jr or hanging out with Justin Bieber. Rather than being plastic PR stunts like many drivers, he brings an element of himself to his job. This personality won’t necessarily give him speed on track, however, the fact that he is being himself means that he may be more comfortable than Vettel in the car.

If nothing else, this weekend’s Grand Prix reminded us about how great this sport is. Of course it is a shame that Fernando Alonso can’t join this ever-tastier scrap at the front, he and McLaren should be fighting at the front and I have a feeling it won’t be long before they return. What is for sure though is that this season, if it continues with it’s peaks and troughs, highs and lows, ups and downs, this season will be up for grabs until the very much debated conclusion. Like a good book, we don’t want this season to end, yet we very much look forward to seeing what happens at the finish line in November.

This post was originally published on my Medium Site on 13th June 2017