NEVER HAS a rise to sporting superstardom success come so quickly as it has to rookie Formula One racing driver Lewis Hamilton. Coming from an ‘against all odds’ background which fulfils the PR’s dream, he is currently on the brink of winning a World Championship title, potentially making him the youngest winner ever.
It has been an unprecedented season of drama for drivers and teams alike, where the natural talent of a young novice has outshone the skills of the usual suspects. But Hamilton has made himself no friends. His competitiveness, characterised by his initial meeting with Ron Dennis when at the age of ten he said, “I want to be racing your cars”, may be one reason – his arrogance is another.
Yet recent escapades between Fernando Alonso and the young Brit have done little to diminish his reputation in the light of an adoring media fan-base. Whether his continuing involvement in the mudslinging will tarnish the seemingly impermeable image of perfection is yet to be seen. However, what Hamilton does have is passion emanating from every pore of his body, and regardless of any off-track events his love of driving is perpetually evident.
Hamilton has been part of the McLaren driver development programme since he was fourteen; Alonso joined the team at the beginning of the year. Understandably, a sense of bias would infiltrate a team that has known one of their drivers for years and the other for only a few months. Alonso, having come to the team as World Champion, may have justifiably expected preferential treatment - if it were not for the fact that McLaren commendably holds the principle of parity for both drivers. The feud that has materialised between the two demonstrates the heightened emotions of two men at the pinnacle of their sporting prowess.
The competition has been blown wide open following the Chinese Grand Prix, as mistakes forced Hamilton to retire. It is the first sign of weakness in a previously formidable record; one showing four wins and nine consecutive podium finishes. It leaves Alonso trailing by only four points.
The final race, at Interlagos, Brazil will be the decider and Hamilton’s unrelenting self-belief will be firmly tested. Victory for either Hamilton or Alonso will hold more than a sense of sporting achievement, as their rancorous rivalry will finally reach its ominous conclusion. It would be thoroughly demeaning to be the McLaren driver standing in second place on that podium, but let us not forget the foreboding presence of Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen. This weekend’s finale is sure to contain fireworks galore.
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