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LONDON. — On Sunday, after his fifth win in seven races this year, world Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton recalled how, as a teenager, he responded to watching Michael Schumacher’s seemingly endless series of victories with Ferrari in the early 2000s.
Hamilton says he “would have woken up, had my bacon sarnie and watched the start and gone to sleep and woken up at the end, then watched the highlights because it’s much shorter”.
So, the Mercedes driver has sympathy with those who may feel the same way about his success now, which will before too long see him break the records Schumacher set 15 or so years ago.
“I can’t speak for the fans but, having been a fan growing up and lived in different eras and watching the Schumacher era, of course I know what it’s like.
“I enjoy myself in the car. I am still able to enjoy the battle, looking where Valtteri (Bottas, his team-mate) is, what times he’s doing, the gaps, trying to get the perfect balance every lap. That is still a massive challenge for me but it is just not as fun for people to watch,” Hamilton said.
“When you’re in it, it’s a bit different. But of course I would love a wheel-to-wheel race. I hope the next races. . . the Red Bulls have improved, I really hope we have more of a race. Everyone wants to see us all battling together.”
The 89th victory of Hamilton’s career, in Sunday’s Belgian Grand Prix, will not go down as a classic, despite the grandeur of the surroundings.
Spa-Francorchamps is one of the greatest race tracks ever built, and to a man the drivers love it. But Red Bull’s Max Verstappen described his race to third place behind the two Mercedes as “boring” – largely because of the amount of tyre management needed by the front-runners to make the end on a long stint after an early safety car period – and Hamilton agreed.
But a soporific race and another Hamilton victory should not distract from the fact that something special is happening here. It might not always be exciting to watch, but history is being made in front of our eyes.
Before the end of this season – quite some time before the end, the way he is going — Hamilton will become the most successful driver in the history of the sport.
It is as much of a privilege to watch a sportsman operate at the rarefied levels Hamilton is achieving as it is to see Lionel Messi score a wonderful solo goal, playing at a level of which other footballers can only dream. Of course, Hamilton has the best car, but so does Bottas. — BBC Sport.
Online Reporter