It was during one of my many sporting conversations with my dad on the phone that we reached a disagreement. Having discussed England's surprising form in the Twenty20 World Cup, the Premier League climax and what the 2010-11 season holds in store for Livingston, we got on to possibly his favourite subject, the Formula One. "I couldn't believe it," he said "a puncture on the penultimate lap! How unlucky is that?"
The next day, I read how the "unlucky" driver in question, Lewis Hamilton, was quoted giving a similar view on things following his retirement from the Spanish Grand Prix, "This is the third or fourth time this has happened to me. Some guys go through their whole careers without a puncture." Well, I don't believe in coincidences and reckon that Hamilton needs to start taking note of the changes in the regulations that have been put in place for 2010 if he is to mount a serious challenge for a second World Championship.
I remember a race a few years ago at the Nuerburgring (a great place for a day out, but best not take the hire car on the old track nearby as we did!) where Kimi Raikkonen led the race from the start until the last lap, whereby his tyres gave out on the last lap and he was left with nothing. Raikkonen was unprepared to come into the pits, at a time when refuelling was still permitted, as it would have compromised his strategy and caused him to lose points to title rivals Fernando Alonso and the good Michael Schumacher (it worries me that I may have become a long-term F1 fan by remembering a time when Schumacher was good, Jenson Button was crap and no-one knew who Lewis Hamilton was). In the end he had nothing, having pushed his tyres to the limit in a bid to stay ahead of his rivals. Raikkonen's aggressive driving style is akin to that of Hamilton's, especially on Sunday when Lewis was unrealistically pushing to catch race winner Mark Webber.
With the new regulations, pit stops are kept to a minimum to change tyres - it is then the responsibility of the driver to make the best of those tyres and not have to stop again if they burn out. It may not encourage flat out racing at all times, but it does at least level the playing field to an extent, so that any one of 4 teams could win a race. However, it does benefit those with a stereotypically "smooth driving style" like Button, Alonso or Sebastien Vettel. I don't think you will see these guys suffering a puncture any time soon. However, Hamilton drives so close to the limit at all times that he is a slight error away from disaster.
And that's why he's the most exciting driver of a generation - he is brilliant and unpredictable. That is something that Dad and I are both agreed on but for this season at least he must pull things back and play the game sensibly.
RM
The next day, I read how the "unlucky" driver in question, Lewis Hamilton, was quoted giving a similar view on things following his retirement from the Spanish Grand Prix, "This is the third or fourth time this has happened to me. Some guys go through their whole careers without a puncture." Well, I don't believe in coincidences and reckon that Hamilton needs to start taking note of the changes in the regulations that have been put in place for 2010 if he is to mount a serious challenge for a second World Championship.
I remember a race a few years ago at the Nuerburgring (a great place for a day out, but best not take the hire car on the old track nearby as we did!) where Kimi Raikkonen led the race from the start until the last lap, whereby his tyres gave out on the last lap and he was left with nothing. Raikkonen was unprepared to come into the pits, at a time when refuelling was still permitted, as it would have compromised his strategy and caused him to lose points to title rivals Fernando Alonso and the good Michael Schumacher (it worries me that I may have become a long-term F1 fan by remembering a time when Schumacher was good, Jenson Button was crap and no-one knew who Lewis Hamilton was). In the end he had nothing, having pushed his tyres to the limit in a bid to stay ahead of his rivals. Raikkonen's aggressive driving style is akin to that of Hamilton's, especially on Sunday when Lewis was unrealistically pushing to catch race winner Mark Webber.
With the new regulations, pit stops are kept to a minimum to change tyres - it is then the responsibility of the driver to make the best of those tyres and not have to stop again if they burn out. It may not encourage flat out racing at all times, but it does at least level the playing field to an extent, so that any one of 4 teams could win a race. However, it does benefit those with a stereotypically "smooth driving style" like Button, Alonso or Sebastien Vettel. I don't think you will see these guys suffering a puncture any time soon. However, Hamilton drives so close to the limit at all times that he is a slight error away from disaster.
And that's why he's the most exciting driver of a generation - he is brilliant and unpredictable. That is something that Dad and I are both agreed on but for this season at least he must pull things back and play the game sensibly.
RM
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