Chopper1192":387sph3d said:
The only glimmer that Lewis possessed a mind of his own was the "maybe it's because I'm black" remark he made a few years ago. Alas, the FIA hammered down hard on him for that.
Thing is, that was just feckless, though.
Whether a poorly conceived Ali-G-ism or not, it was a stupid thing to leave hanging.
I'm far from Hamilton's biggest fan, but many sports stars can seem out-of-their-element or baseless in certain circumstances.
I think at times he lets his emotions get the better of him and / or a more petulant side surfaces - like when interviewed after the Sliverstone qualifying.
But... and it does seem to be conditional on his emotional state! When he's talking about his youth in motorsport, or what he gets out of driving and racing - I see this spark. I see this enthusiasm and this passion, that I don't quite see in some other, more level-headed drivers - and it's that, that I also see represented when he's at his best on track.
I'm also aware that many of these people have certain conflicting principles or emotions at play when they have a camera pointed at them, and what you see in the media, may be quite different from the person in real-life. Where Hamilton is concerned, from very brief tells and snippets, I don't think he's somebody that would necessarily comprehensively endear me, were I to encounter him in real life. But all the same, whilst I may see some good or bad things I perceive in his personality as presented in media, I wouldn't say he's bereft of personality.
Yes, yes, yes, I get - many lament the likes of Hunt, Best, Higgins et al in modern sport - where there isn't, often, quite the same degree of irreverence and unconformity. But then you can critisise them for secondary aspects, or celebrate / be critical of, whether they are actually good at what they should be good at. Times have moved on, things are more competitive - many of the olden-day heros would struggle with any consistency or sustainability in todays version of their sport.
